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Monday, May 7, 2012

He Sings!

Sing to the LORD a new song; Sing to the LORD, all the earth! -- Psalm 96:1

He sings!

He always sings.

Early in the morning hours,

before the sun rises over the trees,

he is there on the top of the pole,

singing his songs with his head directed towards Heaven.

He sings in the rain,

in the midst of the storm,

shakes off the droplets as the thunder passes into the distance,

and sings again

as the sun breaks through the clouds.

He sings!

As the red and orange ball of fire

sinks slowly behind the pine trees

He finds the highest tip of a tree

where he can see the last rays of what we call day,

and sings his songs again . . .

And again. . .

And again!

He knows them all,

and he learned them well.

And each bird in the woods

has their own special lullaby

sung to them as they settle into darkness.

He used to irritate me.

But there came a time

when I needed a song sung into my soul.

A time when I had none of my own,

no notes on a score,

no words on a page,

no rhyme,

no rhythm,

no melody.

I picked up my hymnbook,

and it was almost as if

Mr. Mockingbird had spoken to me ---

“Just pick one,

and sing it with all your heart,

like you mean it,

and don’t stop til you get it right,

til it turns your soul inside out.”

The old hymnbook fell open to

“My Jesus, I Love Thee, I know thou art Mine.”

And best I could, I sang.

Things change when the heart sings.

Songs heal wounds.

Hymns take us to the Cross.

They dry tears so we can see His face,

they lift us from the muck of self,

to the presence of the Father.

They remind us of who we are

and refresh a parched soul.

They find words we can’t seem to find

and whisper them into the ears of our beloved Lord. . .

And He sings them back to us in love,

and grace,

and compassion . . .

only as He can sing.

And so today, I sing my gratitudes. . .

653. That you are my gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou.

654. That I love you because you first loved me.

655. That you purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree.

656. That you wore a crown of thorns on your brow for me.

657. That I will have eternity to adore you.

658. That a mansion awaits for me.

659. That I will sing for You with a crown on my brow.

660. That my song will be a love song, and like my bird, I’ll just keep singing it over and over and over. . . !

Linking up with Ann VosKamp and so many others who continue to look for all the blessings in the moments of their days and are offering up their gratitudes:

10 comments:

Kristin Bridgman said...

Are those your shots of the birds? They are great! The ol' hymnal book saved me during a dark time. Such great words in the old songs. I love to open my windows in the morning as there are so many feathered singers out there, I just love hearing them!
Keep singing Cora :)

Andrea Dawn said...

I so loved this post, Cora . . . not surprising since you are such a gifted writer and seeing as I love birds and old hymns. Great thank you's and lovely photos, too.

Debra said...

I loved this so much, Cora. Thank you.

Delisa said...

Hi Cora! Thank you so much for coming over and visiting my new blog and leaving me such a sweet comment. It is so nice to meet you. Your blog is very beautiful and inspiring! I hope that you have a lovely afternoon ahead! Delisa :)

Susie Swanson said...

Such a beautiful, heartfelt post..You are such an inspiration to us all and I thank God everyday for finding you..With Much Love, Susie

Anonymous said...

I love this...just beautiful...counting has opened my senses too...I hear birds with new ears...blessings as you continue to sing accompanied by His choir of birds:)

Stacy said...

Reminds me of one of my favorite verses...

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. - Eph.5:19-20

Jerralea said...

I love the old hymns - they are so rich with meaning. I agree with Stacy that the Word tells us to sing psalms hymns and spiritual songs and make melody in our hearts to the Lord. Keeps your mind positively focused!

Shanda said...

This hymn ministered to me before i even read your post. I miss the hymns and they sing to my soul as well. Like the annoying bird, they can be annoying to some as we try to keep up with the times, Yet, i think we all come back to their beauty.

Leaon Mary said...

I loved it too Cora...
singing with you....