Singing is something that I love to do, although I will be the first to admit that it is not a talent I possess. I was in college choir my senior year hoping that it would help, but alas, all I learned was that meeting at 7:30 in the morning and trying to sing was pointless, my voice needed a couple hours to warm up! So, I graduated college and what did I decide to do? Join the church choir!
In church choir, we are always being told by the director to, "Sing like you mean it!" and "Think about what you are singing and show it through your face!" It is something that now I find my self doing more without needing reminded; it is something that I should have been doing my whole life. Growing up in a Christian family, attending church three times a week, and going to a Christian Academy and College, I have several instances where I find myself singing, whether it was in church, or chapel, a special, or just an opening exercise for a class.
This past weekend, I, along with other college girls and my sisters, was visiting some elderly folk in the Nursing Home. Our last visit was to a godly woman by the name of Peggy. Peggy has been in the nursing home as far back as I can remember and if she couldn't make it out to my Dad's Saturday service then we would be sure to go down to her room and visit her. We would always find her sitting in a chair with her Bible in her lap. Sometimes she would read to us, sometimes she would ask us to pray for her, but we always ended with a song or two.
This past weekend when we went into her room, we found her altered. She was lying in bed, her room not as tidied as I was accustom to seeing it, and her body looked so frail and little. She had her eyes shut, but I knew she would want us to wake her. She was too weak to carry on a conversation so we decided to just sing her some songs. I chose the first one that came to mind...a familiar one to many of the elderly.
There is coming a day,
When no heart aches shall come,
No more clouds in the sky,
No more tears to dim the eye,
All is peace forever more,
On that happy golden shore
What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
When I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
As I sang I began to think about the words and this elderly woman, this song that I had sang countless number of times began to take on a new meaning. As she lay there mouthing the words with us, I realized that here was a woman that was truly "singing" it like she meant it. Tears began to blur my vision and I had to inhale quickly to keep from crying, I fought back the tears, put a smile on my face and began to sing out with more meaning,
There'll be no sorrow there,
No more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain,
No more parting over there;
And forever I will be,
With the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
When I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
