Sing me a song…

Music is fundamental…well, to me it is. I am willing to bet that my momma sang to me while I was in her womb because I cannot remember a time when there was no music. Whether sacred or secular, our house was ALWAYS full of song and singing. Sam Cooke, all the Motown groups, and Nat King Cole played right along with the Blendwrights, the Faith Quartet, and Walter Arties. My mom has a beautiful soprano voice and when I was a child, she and my aunt would often sing duets for church services. I have already confessed to singing as a child and throughout college. I haven’t done it in a while – unless you count those two times I broke out in song while doing the welcome at my church – yeah, that caused some comments. (hahaha)

Music is traditional. Once a month, my family gathers for family worship on a Friday night. One of my favorite parts of this worship experience is when we sing together as a family – we have great harmony (most of the time). More precisely, I enjoy watching my mother and her siblings sing the old hymns from their childhood. They tell us the stories of long ago Friday night family worships with my grandparents and great-grandparents. They tell hilarious stories of their aunts and uncles singing and their impersonations of these elders of our family are hilarious. In telling us these stories, my cousins and I not only learn our family history, we are exposed to new hymns and songs that enrich and sustain us.

Music is for sharing. Lately, a lot of my friends have taken to posting music videos on their Facebook pages – and through these postings I am finding out a lot about them – and their friends as well. Some songs I am familiar with and have my own immediate feelings about. They may remind me of a lost love or a more innocent time in my life (yes, there was a time when I was “innocent”) or even take me to a place of sadness. Then there are the new (to me) songs that are either so enjoyable they added to my music collection via iTunes or so horrible that they are stopped midstream with the thought ringing through my head: “does s/he really listen to THAT? Yuck!” Of course, music is subjective and to each his or her own. No judgments…well, maybe a little.

Music has messages that are timeless. This past weekend, at a local church, two childhood friends of mine sang special music. A very spiritual rendition of the old church hymn WILL YOUR ANCHOR HOLD? I was not present, but thanks to a YouTube posting, I was able to enjoy the song later. This is a hymn that I remember being sung all the time in my childhood. The lyrics didn’t make sense to me then, but they sure do resound with me now. I am glad to know that we have an anchor that is “steadfast and sure while the billows roll” – especially now, when life often seems shaky and uncertain. “Fastened to the Rock which cannot move, Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love” Now THAT is a promise to hold onto.

Music will get you through. In Psalms 137:3-4, David talks about the children of Israel being taken away as captives and being required to “sing [us] one of the songs of Zion” and their reply to this request being “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” My question is “How can you NOT sing?” Sometimes the only thing that will get you through a hard time is remembering the lyrics to a song, a hymn, or some piece of music. Or maybe that is just me. A word of caution though: just like Bible promises, if you don’t hide them in your heart now, they won’t be there in your times of need. I urge you to store up some good music now. You’ll be glad you did.

Be blessed.

© 2010 Kristina E. Smith
Monday, 15 March, 2010