Month: October 2017

The Power of Music

To heal

To celebrate

To remember

Is simply amazing

I don’t know about you but music has always been a part of my life. My daddy had an old stereo console and quite a collection of albums. He played music in the evenings while we ate dinner and after dinner while I was doing homework. He took such good care of that stereo. I can see him bending over and blowing on the needle to be sure it was free of lint before he set it down on the album. He loved country music- the old classics: Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Roger Miller, Glenn Campbell, Ray Charles. These albums helped develop my appreciation for country music.

When I was seven years old, my parents bought a piano for me and I started taking piano lessons. I took lessons for 10 years. I should have been an accomplished player but alas, practice time was my downfall. I practiced enough to get by, but I wanted to play popular music along with the traditional and classical piano pieces. My music teacher didn’t approve of my choices and we were at a standoff. I spent more time playing what I wanted to play than playing my lesson music for the week. I would pretend I was performing in public places. I had quite the imagination!

I was also in the children’s choir at church and then the youth choir. We took trips to Lake Junaluska, NC for a weeklong music festival every summer. Those were some of the best days of my life. The music was so powerful and spoke to me on a spiritual level and was fun to sing. Then we would bring back all of that fabulous music home to share with our church family. One of those special pieces of music is “The Gift of Love”. We loved to sing it as an anthem. On my wedding day, a very dear friend of mine sang this song for us. It will always hold a special place on my heart.

The music of the worship service is an important part of my worship experience each Sunday. I enjoy the music selections that set the tone for worship and send us out into the world renewed in the spirit for the week ahead of us. The lyrics of the hymns and anthems assure me that God is with me always and I love to sing praise for all His gifts in my life.

“In the Garden”, “Amazing Grace”, “How Great Thou Art”, “Blessed Assurance” and “The Old, Rugged Cross” are of a few of my all-time favorites. These songs build me up, give me strength to push on when I am weak. I will often have my eyes fill with tears when I sing them.

Last Thursday, I was fortunate enough to have tickets to attend the Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood concert. I was so excited. I have loved his music for a long time. “The Dance” and “The River” are two of my favorite quiet songs. They have taken on special meaning for me since Chris’s death.

Looking back on the memory of

The dance we shared beneath the stars above

For a moment all the world was right

How could I have known you’d ever say goodbye

And now I’m glad I didn’t know

The way it all would end the way it all would go

Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain

But I’d have to miss the dance

I have so many beautiful memories of Chris and I together. We had a special love. I am so thankful for every day we had together. We used to say to each other, “Come grow old with me; the best is yet to be.” So, if I had known how our earthly love story would end, I still wouldn’t have missed the chance to have the love we shared. He was the love of my life.

Loved singing “The River” with thousands at the concert.

You know a dream is like a river

Ever changin’ as it flows

And a dreamer’s just a vessel

That must follow where it goes

Trying to learn from what’s behind you

And never knowing what’s in store

Makes each day a constant battle

Just to stay between the shores…and

I will sail my vessel

‘Til the river runs dry

Like a bird upon the wind

These waters are my sky

I’ll never reach my destination

If I never try

So I will sail my vessel

‘Til the river runs dry

………

There’s bound to be rough waters

And I know I’ll take some falls

But with the good Lord as my captain

I can make it through them all…

My life has definitely been like a river, with it’s ever changing path where waters are smooth or rough and slow or fast. The water flows around obstacles like rocks and trees. This song reminds me that I can survive the journey on the river of life with the good Lord by my side.

Last year, Cole Swindell released a new song titled, “You Should Be Here”. I cannot tell you how many times I have said that out loud to Chris- College graduations for two children, a high school graduation for one, a wedding for one, a heartbreak for another and the birth of our first grandchild. There have been quiet moments when I’ve said the same thing and big Mayville family moments when I have said it, too.

It’s one of those moments, that’s got your name written all over it

And you know that if I had just one wish

It’d be that you didn’t have to miss this

Aw you should be here

You’d be loving this, you’d be freaking out, you’d be smiling, yeah

I know you’d be all about what’s going on right here right now

God I wish somehow you could be here

To sign off on an upbeat note, there’s also that music that I just can’t help but tap my foot to and dance around the room to -like Pharrell’s “Happy”, Danielle Bradbury’s “Sway”, and Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk”.

What songs are special to you?

Music is a fair and glorious gift from God. – Martin Luther

Today I woke up to the heartbreaking news of the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival in Las Vegas. It took a few minutes to actually realize what had happened. Unfathomable! What kind of person conceives an action like this, plans out all of the details and then carries it out? Obviously, he was a very disturbed individual. I’m not writing to get into the how’s or why’s this happened or to debate the gun laws in this country; but rather, I am writing to convey my heartfelt condolences and my incredible pride in the people of this great country.

I pray that God will wrap His loving arms around the families and friends of the victims of this tragedy. Their pain is so deep. I simply cannot imagine sending my loved one(s) off to enjoy a great country music festival and then not have them come home. I stand with millions of people who have sent their loved ones off to concert events and prayed for their safety. My heart breaks for those whose loved ones didn’t come home.

I am praying for the lives of the survivors, those with physical injuries and those who are handling the mental pain of what they witnessed and survived. They will live with this for the rest of their lives. My prayer is that they will recover to live full and blessed lives and not suffer for extended periods of time with PTSD.

I am so thankful to the police officers, fire fighters and EMT responders. Their incredibly swift response saved so many lives. They ran in when others were running out. They protected citizens with their own bodies and guided them to safety. They cared for the wounded on site. They were as prepared for such a tragic event as one can be. No one ever wants to have to put active shooter training to the test, but the Las Vegas emergency responders were called on and they passed this awful test.

And last, but certainly, by far, not the least, were the ordinary people who did extra-ordinary things. Some were concert goers who grabbed strangers to pull them to safety. Some were driving by and gave up their vehicles to transport victims to hospitals. People used the barricades as stretchers to carry the wounded to safety. They were those who shielded others with their own bodies. One gentleman in his 50’s decided that the young women in their 20’s on the ground were worth saving more than himself, so he laid his body across them to shield them. Some people turned back to help others get over walls and barricades. They could have just kept on going, but they didn’t.

In the midst of great tragedy, even greater humanity shows up. We have been tested in the last month with hurricanes, fires and earthquakes and now this mass shooting. What has made my heart sing and swell with pride after every event is how people have shown up to help others.

While we continue to make financial donations and send supplies for the victims of the natural disasters, we are stepping up for the victims of the mass shooting. Steve Sisolak, Chairman of the Clark County Commissioners in Las Vegas, reported this afternoon that several

hotels are opening rooms at no cost for victims’ families who are arriving in town. Donations of water, blankets and food to the convention center, where family and friends are awaiting reunification, have been so great that they are running out of room to store them. The city leaders asked people who were able to donate blood. Since that time, donors waited 6-8 hours in long lines for their turn. By 3:00 pm, earliest appointments available were Thursday afternoon and Friday. City leaders also established a

Go Fund Me account to help the victims and their families today and in the days ahead. In just twelve hours it reached $2.2 million. A-maxing! Just amazing!

Can we all embrace this “Be kind to one another” mentality in all areas of our lives?

In the meantime, pray that all who are suffering may find peace in God’s love. May they see God’s hand in the works of others. May our spirits be filled with the desire to do good for others in Your name.

Luke 6:31 Treat others the way you want them to treat you.

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Ps. 34:18

PS Sorry for my lack of writings posted lately. I have three in the works, just can’t get through them. Hoping the finishing touches and timing will come so that I may share with you again soon.