My first personal conversion took place in my preschool years and heavily involved the idea of The Good Shepherd looking for me, so when I'm stressed Psalm 23 is a go to Scripture for me. I know lots of tunes to sing it with, but they aren't for sale at iTunes. I'll have to wait for T. Bone Burdett to take an interest in Christian Fundamentalist music from the seventies and eighties. While I'm waiting, I searched to see what they did have, and I discovered Kathryn Jenkins. She has an amazing Good Shepherd Aria that now calls me to wake, and soothes me when I'm overwhelmed. The rest of the album is pretty good too.
My childhood was full of singing. All day everyday there were opportunities to belt it out, and I loved it. One of the only times I saw my grandfather angry about something at church was when the city-slicker, intellectual music minister tried to teach us new "gloomy" songs. We only did gloomy for altar calls. Sometimes I would stop singing in order to listen to all that joy. It was better than any sermon, and I still hunt those memories up when I'm feeling alone.
Sometimes we forget how necessary encouraging and including other people in our lives truly is. I can't sing like Kathryn Jenkins, but I can speak the truth with love. I can be present. I can pray. Take some time today to remember your friends, even those who seem fine. Most of us hide our weakness, but everyone likes to hear the skinny lady sing.
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