Singing the Story

Yesterday when I arrived at the skilled nursing community, the worship team was already in full voice. I was not surprised for they are not shy in expressing their love of the Lord, and of worship and the pianist has a style that is quite lively. This month we have been singing of Jesus, and the frail in particular have been responding with enthusiasm.   

While this particular dining/activity room is really too small for the size of this community (not uncommon now as most skilled nursing communities are dedicating more and more space to rehab), I always give thanks for the floor to ceiling windows along two walls, even if one window does overlook a parking lot. However, the other provides a view of the street so one can see all sorts of comings and goings as the seasons change.  I am convinced that natural light and a view beyond the walls is good for the eyes, including the eyes of heart.  As I joined in the singing (who could resist?), the shy activity assistant who must wear a mask because she did not get a flu shot, did a modest little dance as she moved through the room tending to the patients. One of the old old, raised her thin arms, smiled a beautiful toothless smile, and waved.  The momentum of love could not be stopped even if we had wanted that; it simply swooped in and carried us all.  Ten years into the ministry, I am still deeply moved by how much some residents and patients yearn for and respond to stories and hymns that tell of Jesus' love. In those moments, I believe people are reminded that love is for them, and we come often enough to keep that message alive in their hearts and ours.  I do love to tell that "old, old story of Jesus and his love."*  

   

Above Everything

I wished for death often
but now that I am at its door
I have changed my mind about the world.
It should go on; it is beautiful,
even as a dream, filled with water and seed,
plants and animals, others like myself,
ships and buildings and messages
filling the air -- a beauty,
if ever I have seen one.
In the next world, should I remember
this one, I will praise it
above everything.

~ David Ignatow ~  

* "I Love to Tell the Story," words by Katherine Hankey (1868) and music by William G. Fischer, 1869. According to Wikepedia, this hymn came about while Ms. Hankey was convalescing from a serious illness she contracted in Africa.