Echoing in Our Minds
Read: Psalm 100
I noticed that in 2013 I wrote my Lenten Devotion about some words in an anthem we had sung which were meaningful to me – “I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining; I believe in love, even when I feel it not: I believe in God, even when He is silent” written on the walls of a cellar in Cologne, Germany, during WWII.
And Pat Greenwell and Pastor Ray called the congregation’s attention to the words of Howard Thurman in the January 15th anthem which said, “When the song of angels is stilled . . . and the kings and princes are home . . . the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry . . . to re-build the nations, to bring peace among brothers . . . ”
One of my favorites from a Christmas cantata which we sang a few years ago is, “Hope is like a candle burning in the night, Hope paints every shadow with its gentle light, Glowing like a promise till our faith is sight . . .”
Singing in the choir causes these wonderful lines to echo in our minds for days, at least that’s my experience. As a result, to continue in the words of the same cantata, one can experience “Peace .. . like sweet music sounding pure and strong, Singing songs of comfort when the night is long. Turning drums of hatred into heaven’s song.”
Or experience, ”Joy like a flower blooming in the soul, Sending forth its fragrance to heal and make us whole. And when bitter winds are blowing and when birds refuse to sing, Joy can turn our winter into our eternal spring.”
May you experience peace, hope and joy this Lenten Season.
Vivian Anderson
Read: Psalm 100
I noticed that in 2013 I wrote my Lenten Devotion about some words in an anthem we had sung which were meaningful to me – “I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining; I believe in love, even when I feel it not: I believe in God, even when He is silent” written on the walls of a cellar in Cologne, Germany, during WWII.
And Pat Greenwell and Pastor Ray called the congregation’s attention to the words of Howard Thurman in the January 15th anthem which said, “When the song of angels is stilled . . . and the kings and princes are home . . . the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry . . . to re-build the nations, to bring peace among brothers . . . ”
One of my favorites from a Christmas cantata which we sang a few years ago is, “Hope is like a candle burning in the night, Hope paints every shadow with its gentle light, Glowing like a promise till our faith is sight . . .”
Singing in the choir causes these wonderful lines to echo in our minds for days, at least that’s my experience. As a result, to continue in the words of the same cantata, one can experience “Peace .. . like sweet music sounding pure and strong, Singing songs of comfort when the night is long. Turning drums of hatred into heaven’s song.”
Or experience, ”Joy like a flower blooming in the soul, Sending forth its fragrance to heal and make us whole. And when bitter winds are blowing and when birds refuse to sing, Joy can turn our winter into our eternal spring.”
May you experience peace, hope and joy this Lenten Season.
Vivian Anderson
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