April 13, 2022

Learning a New Language

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” – Colossians 3:16

Throughout the majority of his life, my dad was not an emotionally expressive person. He was incredibly kind and funny, so people were drawn to him. In the last several years of his life he learned a new language – a language of expression – music. Learning a new language is a great way to keep your brain young – and his was!

Besides the joy it gave him – both listening and playing – it gave him a way to express his feelings, and a way to share his new joy with anyone who was willing to listen. Most of our conversations were spent discussing music. The stories behind the music, chords, lyrics, and most importantly the feeling connected to those lyrics. He began sharing his new musical language with his congregation. He found songs that inspired everyone. The inspiration didn’t just come from the music and lyrics, but from witnessing a man who believed that despite his age, he could still learn a new skill, as well as learn and grow spiritually and emotionally.

He was especially fond of classic country music and was a wealth of knowledge on singers and the origins of their songs. He often commented about Roger Miller and his habit of writing ideas on scraps of paper and storing them in a box to go back to later. My dad liked the idea of writing a song, and I found snippets of ideas on many notepads worthy of a Roger Miller box. He didn’t write a song, but he was a prolific writer of devotions. Sorting through his file cabinets, I discovered a folder labeled Roger Miller File! In it were his notes for devotions for the next Lenten devotion book. What a gift.

Sometimes the things we like to do don’t seem like a gift – just a joy. Those may very well be the things God puts on our hearts knowing the joy they will bring to others. Let’s all try to share our gifts/joys – it may just inspire someone else to share theirs.

Dear God, thank you for the many joys we find in this Earthly life. Help us share those joys and gifts so we can be an example to others who hesitate to share, or recognize, their own. Amen.

Jacki Rumpp