God Gives a New Song

I cannot remember when I first heard the story of Jesus on the cross. It just seems to have always been there like a member of the family. No one needed to explain to me who my parents were, and how my relationship with them was different than other relationships. Those things just happen naturally with time. Like many people, my relationship with Christ was first like taking the hand of an older brother who somehow was an unseen and vital part of our home. No explanation of who Jesus was seemed to be needed, he was just always there.

Singing and storytelling were both important in the development of our faith. Many of us were blessed to have fewer things and simple lives where our Christian education was in the classroom of everyday life.

We learned to pray because our parents, and many people we knew and loved, prayed. Most days life was peaceful and pleasant, but there were times when days were deary, or storms swept through. Faith was as steadfast as the mountain we lived on, but the songs changed with the circumstances of each day. The was always a song to help us through.

When Pat and I married, we became one; that also included our faith. We kept many of the old songs, and we have learned new ones together. It just seems that faith goes better with a song.

I have never been a singer pleasing to another’s ears; but I think that the Good Lord hears the heart, and it is sweet music to him. Perhaps you feel the same. The life we have lived holds the fingerprints of God; and how can we keep from singing?

“Above the tumult and the strife,
I hear the music ringing;
It sounds an echo in my soul
How can I keep from singing?”