Cornsilk and tortillas scraped aside, plates stacked, applesauce drying on bellies and noses, and we stayed around the table a little longer tonight, while Brian brought out his guitar.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation
I remember coloring in an empty sanctuary, sitting up straight to see above the pew, listening to my mother's music fill the silence as she rehearsed for Sunday's service.
And how she too grew up in sanctuaries and under tents, listening to my grandmother's harmonies against my grandfather's melody, as they traveled around the state, performing and leading gospel music.
And I wonder what my grandmother may have thought about when she was a child, watching her father standing in the front of an aged wooden sanctuary, leading choirs and youth camps in shaped note singings.
All of those generations of musicians, leaders, worshippers.
Every generation, every child, absorbs the music of his father.
And is captivated by it.
Like their curls, the music is in their blood. Worship is their inheritance. It is the best that is in me, the most that I have to share. It flows through us, one generation to the next, not ours to dictate or control, but to live and feel and lift up to the God who loves us all.
Thanks be to God.
7 comments:
This is truly your best blog ever. It brought me to tears.
stephanie, so sweet and so well written!! you have a gift and amazing pictures that capture the moment to go with it!! thank you for sharing this!!
Stephanie, this is hands down the most beautiful blog you have ever written/shared. Like Linda, it brought me to tears. What an incredibly legacy to pass down.
breathtaking blog! i am speechlessly amazed!
That is a beautiful description of the power our families have in shaping our legacies. A powerful commentary on what I want my life to model.
beautiful.
Thanks for the personal reminiscences regarding your musical heritage. I can identify.
My grandmother on my father's side was a wonderful soprano over in England, frequently involved as a soloist in Handel's Messiah, and other works. My father led a fine gospel quartet, and served as a church organist and choir director for many years. For myself, as well as being a senior pastor (retired after 40 years), I've been a song leader and choir director, and now write about hymns in a weekly newspaper column, and in my daily blog, Wordwise Hymns." My son Jim and his wife Shari are missionaries in Mexico, and Jim writes and sings his own songs.
I wonder, is there something genetic about this? Or is it a matter of home environment, parental example, and "train up a child" (Prov. 22:6). Maybe both. And above all it is great to see these gifts invested in service for the Lord.
God bless you and your family.
Post a Comment