"Are you humming? Right now? Why? Are you happy, or something?!"
It was early (prior-to-coffee early) on a Sunday morning and I was sitting across from a co-worker in our small hospital office, working on some chart reviews. But now he was looking at me, expecting an answer.
In my defense, I tend to hum alot. I'll hum as I cook, as I type, as I drive, and as I clean. If there's music playing somewhere nearby, I'll hum along with it. Pop songs in department stores, best of the 60's and 70's favored by my co-worker, and the high-church choral pieces that Paul enjoys. To my dismay, I've even caught myself humming the theme music from the mindless video games my sons favor. Sigh.
(I should add that my father is also a hummer, so I believe I came by this habit naturally. As a little girl, I'd hear tunes around the house that came from an album entitled "Hymns Triumphant." What began as humming often turned into singing as the words of the piece resonated within his heart. And because this grainy video from 2008 also makes me weepily smile (because well, it's baby Jack snoozing and my parents singing,) I'm sharing it with ya'll : )
Anyway, on this particular Sunday morning I'd slid, still sleepy, into my car and prepared to head to work. In order to wake up my tired brain, my first plan included tuning into a local news station. Though I can't be certain, I'm pretty sure the Holy Spirit nudged my foggy mind while asking the obvious question, "why would you begin this day with news?!" (It's 2020, after all.) Plus, it was a Sunday, a day when I'd normally find myself worshiping God with other believers.
So I opened Spotify, turned my worship playlist to random and started my drive. For the next thirty minutes God and I enjoyed some time together, as the truths from the words I was listening too helped prepare me for the day. I was reminded that when I'm facing fearful and uncertain circumstances (much like the Israelites, or three friends standing before a fiery furnace, or Paul and Silas in prison must have felt) I am not alone ("There is Another in the Fire,") that in love and mercy, Jesus has done ALL that is required for my salvation and all I need to do is move towards him in faith ("Living Hope,") that God can give peace to my soul when it's filled with fear and worry ("Be Still my Soul (in You I Rest),") that for his life and death and daily grace, Jesus deserves my praise ("O Praise the Name,") that God's love for us is intimate and personal ("He Shall Feed His Flock,") and that one day (one glorious day,) all wrongs will be made right ("One Day (When We All Get to Heaven.)")
By the time I parked my car and headed into work, my mind was both awake and so very encouraged. Which, in turn, led me to humming the songs that I'd just heard. Which, in turn, led my co-worker to ask, in a slightly incredulous tone, his question. How, on an early Sunday morning with a day of work in front of me, and, well, 2020 in full swing, was I happy?
I was happy because just moments earlier I'd been reminded of great and powerful truths. Truths that gives me hope for today and the future. Truths that bolster my faith. Truths that help me love others. Truths that are more wonderful than the news is depressing.
And this is the power of music. Songs can affect your mood and outlook on life. Even long after you've listened to them, songs can stay with you, fortifying your soul. And right now, don't our souls need fortifying? When our hearts are tempted to join the fear, anxiety, hatred, bitterness, despair or numbness of this present time, don't we need tools with which to fight back against those things? We need truth. We need to hear it in sermons, in podcasts, in books, in scripture itself, in conversations, and in our music.
We need to fill our minds with so much truth that it spills out of us. Possibly as humming : )
So I'm encouraging those of you reading this to be intentional about bolstering your truth intake. If you aren't in the habit of listening to music, now is perhaps a good time to start. Paul and I have created dozens of playlists on Spotify that you can listen too (arranged by topic and situation) if you want, but even more impactful are playlists that you create for yourself. (Also, our taste in music, though broad, may not appeal to all of you : )
Think of songs that have impacted you and rooted themselves into your memory. My Spotify worship playlist includes some of those songs my father sang or my mother taught me when I was a child, songs from my college years (especially that album featuring Paul ; ) songs from our early years in graduate school when times were tough, songs I sang while serving at Calvary Baptist, songs that I've sung with my very musical in-laws, songs introduced to me by my brothers and sisters at the Gospel Service on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and songs that I've learned while mastering the skill of playing from a lead-sheet at ACF church, here in Alaska. All have a place in my heart and impact my soul.
So find your songs, then listen to them. In Deuteronomy 6, Moses reminds the children of Israel of the vital need to keep the words of God close. He tells them to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up." This task seems very legalistic on it's face. But what if, instead of seeing it as a rule we have to keep, we see it as a means of protection that God is imploring us to use. He knows that his words will sustain us more than anything else that the world around us offers. They will give us the strength. They will be our light during dark moments. They are vital.
(Also, they might make us hum : )
As I wrote and edited this piece, I couldn't help but be re-impacted by the songs that I listened too that morning. This is possibly my favorite of the group. At this point in the year, I find myself very weary from the seemingly constant barrage of bad news, personal and national conflict and overwhelming sense of stress and anxiety. I know that we are growing and being sanctified by living through this time period, that Jesus lived through unimaginable levels of difficulty but did it with joy, and so I can too, with his help. BUT, I still imagine heaven as an unbelievably wonderful place where none of these broken parts of life will be present.
Also, I would love you know what songs speak to you! Please leave a comment on our Facebook page (and follow it too, if you don't!) and share some of your favorites : )
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