Some people have to read countless books and listen to hours of lectures to find a piece of wisdom that alters the way they see the world. Sometimes, though, all it takes is one word. Amy Grant found that a single word, in context helped change the way she sees the world and conducts herself. That single-word phrase is part of a larger mantra she learned from a close friend.
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A clip from one of her concerts in 2023 shows her sharing the five-phrase mantra that she has been saying for years. She learned the collection of phrases from a World War II veteran who fought on the front lines in Europe and liberated concentration camps before coming home to live a quiet life in Tennessee.
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Amy Grant Shares Her Mantra with Her Fans
Amy Grant learned the mantra from her old friend Jimmy Gentry at a time when one of her children was going through a rough patch. “Jimmy told me, “I want you to remember five phrases. Say them as often as possible to your children, to everybody.’ If you don’t remember anything from tonight. Not even the songs we sang or the sparkles on my boots, I want you to remember these five phrases,” Grant told the audience.
“First, he said, ‘Hold your hand up.’ He had this big Southern drawl. He said, ‘As often as you can say this—I am proud of you.’ That’s good to hear, it’s good to say. Then, he said ‘Fold your thumb down, let’s take a four-word phrase. May I help you? Don’t shove yourself in there. Ask,’” Grant explained. The three-word phrase, Grant said, was easy to guess. The crowd agreed, saying “I love you,” in unison. “Oh yeah. Sounds good just saying it. I love you. The two-word phrase, ‘Thank you,’” She continued.
The Life-Changing Phrase
“This one changed the way I see life. He said, ‘Amy, the one-word phrase is the most important. It’ll change everything.’ And I shouted every good single word I could think of. God, Jesus, love, forgiveness, hope. He just smiled and shook his head no. He said, ‘This is the most important. We.’”
She shared a little more about the powerful one-word phrase in an interview with Faithwire in 2019. Gentry told her to look at the world as “we.” About that, Grant said, “It is a divisive world but I really believe what we speak, what we think—we have the ability to create the world we step into. I just try to operate with grace and respect and say, ‘The world immediately around me can be vastly different by how I conduct myself.”
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