Pocket Full of Sunshine

By Natasha Bedingham 

The "pocketful of sunshine" I refer to when I sing along to this song in my car or when washing dishes is a Soulmates Marriage.  When we have a Soulmates Marriage, trials or adversity have much less impact on us.  It's like we have a forcefield around us that buffers us from the irritating, bad, dangerous, hurtful, Survival of the Fittest behaviors of others with whom we must interact on a daily basis at school, work, in our community, on the road, and even at church.  Children being raised by parents who have a Soulmates Marriage are encompassed by this forcefield also so that they too have a buffer zone around them.  It literally has the power to "take us away, a secret place, a sweet escape."  And if for whatever reason we don't have this with our spouse, we can draw closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  When we are part of his family, we experience blessings similar to a Soulmates Marriage (#Love of God) through his atonement and the power of the Holy Ghost.  This song is just another way of singing "Love At Home."

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine
I got a love, and I know that it's all mine, oh
Do what you want, but you're never gonna break me
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me, no

Chorus
Take me away (take me away)
A secret place (a secret place)
A sweet escape(a sweet escape)
Take me away (take me away)
Take me away (take me away)
To better days (to better days)
Take me away (take me away)
A higher place (a higher place)

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine
I got a love, and I know that it's all mine, oh
Do what you want, but you're never gonna break me
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me, no

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine
I got a love, and I know that it's all mine, oh
Wish that you could, but you ain't gonna own me
Do everything you can't control me, no

Repeat Chorus

There's this places that I go
And nobody knows
Where this river flow
And I call it home [So many people don't know about this "home" and how amazingly powerful and Sustainable it is in the face of temptation and adversity (Matt 11:28).]

And there's no more lies
In the darkness, there's light
And nobody cries
There's only butterflies

Repeat Chorus (3)

The sun is on my side [The Son is on my side.]
And take me for a ride [When I sing this part I think of the "ride" of life, which includes all of our relationships, and how it is so much better when we keep the Lord's commandments regardless of the circumstances we are called to bear (2 Nephi 1:20).]
I smile up to the sky [Gratitude]
I know I'll be all right [Faith]
The sun is on my side ["Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God." ~D&C 101:16]

Thanks to Natasha for this song.  I love it! It has helped me get through a number of hard days because when I sing it and spin it (see Spin the Lyrics), I can feel it's true.  That strengthens my faith in Jesus Christ.  Since I am divorced, I look to him for my "pocketful of sunshine."

Spin the Lyrics

When I'm working through the storms of my life I'm pretty stressed.  During those times nothing else seems to be able to reach me as powerfully as music.  But I don't just listen to the music.  I listen to the lyrics and my heart.  I listen for meaning and how it specifically applies to my life and the current conflict I'm trying to resolve.  Bottom line:  I'm listening for my Savior's voice in the song.  I reach for him, not just with my physical ears but with my spiritual ears.  I think I have done this ever since I was a little girl without even knowing what I was doing.  It is some kind of instinctive, spiritually genetic skill.

So it is pretty often that I spin the lyrics in a song.  I translate them to my situation, to fit my story.  For example, if it is a woman singing to a man, I might swap it to a man singing to a woman if I am in need of my Savior's confirmation, comfort, and guidance.  I listen to what he might be saying to me through these words.

Love songs are obviously singing about the relationship between a man and a woman but I spin them so that I hear the words singing about my relationship with my God.  I let the Spirit govern my translations.  Since I have had so many experiences in the past where the lyrics in a song (accompanied by that feeling of peace) have been instrumental in healing my heart, my faith in this Process is strong.

I did this one day a number of years ago when I was really struggling with an issue in my life.  I had gone on my walk around the neighborhood with my iPod on.  The following song came on (it's from my aerobics instructor playlist).  I remember I was trudging up a hill when it was like someone said, "Hey, listen."  I heard these comforting words as if they were straight from Him to me:

Superwoman
by Sonny O'Brien

[During my walk I changed this to 'Superman' and thought of Christ singing it to me]

Whenever you need me, whenever you call
whenever your world comes tumbling down, [My world was tumbling down]
I will break the fall
'cause I've got the power, to depend on
when a hero is all that it takes,
so if you need somebody [Man, I needed somebody]

I am your super[man], I'll be there for you
I am your super[man], I will care for you [I needed someone to care for me in this way]
no matter how hard, no matter how tough
I'll lift you up, and if you want it enough [the lyrics I found said something different on this line but I'm pretty sure this is what she sings in this version of this song]
I am your super[man], everyday

I'll climb any mountain, I'll swim any sea
I'll even fly to heaven and back, if you believe in me
'cause I've got the magic you can count on
when a miracle has to be done,
so if you need somebody

Repeat

I didn't just hear the words.  Something happened in my heart as I listened.  Wave after wave of peace flowed into it like waves crashing on the shores of a beach.  It was so amazingly pure and powerful.  I could feel His presence.  And I knew without a doubt that he was communicating to me.  He wanted me to know that he was enough for me.  At the time I was in despair and felt like NOTHING could resolve my conflict.  NOTHING.  I had nowhere to go.  I had no answers.  And even though he didn't give me specific answers at this time, I felt utterly and completely comforted.  I don't know why.  I usually want answers and don't feel better until I get them.  I guess it was just knowing that He was there for me.  I could FEEL he understood what I was going through.  It was like he was holding me.

In hindsight I can see that he did know exactly what was going on and why I was feeling the way I was.  I can see now that I wouldn't have been able to understand then.  I didn't have enough information.  I didn't know the full story and it couldn't be explained to me yet.  Over time I've come to understand it but in that moment on that day I didn't.  Yet this song, the words he said to me through it combined with the peace I experienced was enough.  It's not that I didn't have other people to call and talk to about how I was feeling.  I did and I'm thankful for that.  It's that what other people usually had to say to me or how I felt when I talked to them wasn't enough.  I have come to know this about myself:  I need Him.  Whatever it is that he is and he has that is different from what other caring and compassionate people have, I need it. 

I am so thankful to Sonny O'Brien for this song.  It has been a lifeline to me, a means by which I can reach heaven and it can reach me.