“He put a new song in
my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put
their trust in him.”---Psalm 40:3 (NIV)
This blog post has we writers contemplating
projects, “that make your heart sing.” This makes one think of the precious
organ within our bodies as a source of the rhythm of our lives. Every beat of
our hearts reminds us we are alive. This may cause us to sing and our feet to
dance to this rhythm. There are, however, different rhythms, different songs
our hearts may sing.
A Dirge Heart Song
When my parents died a few
years apart from each other, my heart song struck the beat of a dirge. This
expressed a slow-moving mournful lament. The sun dimmed as if I sat among the
clouds. I could no longer enjoy the physical presence of the people who gave me
life. My heart sang the dirge of an adult orphan.
A Heart Song of Love
I am not the most romantic guy
in the world, but I know how to love. When I met the woman of my dreams, I knew
I had to plan my life different than I thought before. In our early lives
together we both knew we were a fit with each other. Even after forty-four
years of marriage we are a super fit together, love endures, and a medley of
love continues.
A Heart Song of Praise
I became a Christian in 1975
and for the first time in my life my heart could sing praise to God. Life
changed and my search for true meaning and purpose ended. As with all of God’s
people I can praise Him even in the storms of life. God hears my heart song of
praise.
A Melody of Nature
The warmth of the once winter
hidden sun breaks forth and wakes up creation. One’s voice has the freedom to
soar like a bird when in the presence of mountains, the parents of the forests.
A few minutes from where I live the mountains are close enough to hug. Right
now, they are showing off a myriad of their spring green and yellow colours.
The evergreen and deciduous trees dance to the rhythm of a spring breeze.
Not to be left out, birds let
lose with their chirps, warbles, and whistles. The finches, robins, chickadees,
juncos, crows, and even starlings, sing praises to God whether off-key or
perfect pitch. The melody of nature can overwhelm me to the point my heart
sings with the citizens of the sky.
Dear Friends
Perhaps life for you, even
now, may have you in a strangle hold to the point you choke. A pathway in life
may even now cause you to sing mournful notes of a dirge. In our society people
run from dirges and their hearts try to scream them away.
As you make your way through
this journey of life what makes your heart sing? My friends, beloved of God, my
prayer for you is your heart will always know it can sing a song of praise.
From experience I know the pain that accompanies one when life calls to sing a
dirge. Glory be to God, we can also sing praise even in a storm we feel may rip
us from this life.
“And
I'll praise you in this storm
And I
will lift my hands
For
you are who you are
No
matter where I am
And
every tear I've cried
You
hold in your hand
You
never left my side
And
though my heart is torn
I will
praise you in this storm”
Writer(s):
John Mark Hall, Bernie Herms, 2006
Precious Holy One, all praise
be to You forever. Oh God, lover of our souls, allow our hearts to sing praise
to you, even through the storms in our lives.
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Dear friends and fellow sojourners, allow your
hearts to sing, for God loves the sound of your songs.
Alan lives in Deroche, B.C. with his wife,
Terry. He contributed stories to Good Grief People by Angel Hope Publishing,
2017; Story by Story: The Power of a Writer, Unstoppable Writers Publishing,
2018; Easter Stories & More by InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship,
2021. Alan periodically writes articles for FellowScript Magazine. He has written
posts for our InScribe blog since 2015. Blog: https://scarredjoy.ca.
Good post, Alan. And spring is a dance I love to watch.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bruce for your appreciation of spring's dance.
DeleteThank you for this heart-hugging post, Alan.
ReplyDeleteAll your words spoke to me, especially these: "The melody of nature can overwhelm me to the point my heart sings with the citizens of the sky."
Spring--I love it. It's a song celebrating God's love for us and a wooing of those who haven't come to trust in Him yet.
Blessings, dear brother.
Thank you for your encouragement, Wendy. I enjoy a deep love affair with Spring every year. The dance of the trees to the accompaniment of the birds is always a joy to behold. Blessings to you as well dear sister.
DeleteWow, Alan, what a wonderful post. I love that you live where you are close enough to hug the mountains and embrace their seasons. Oh that people would understand the cleansing and healing in the times when our hearts would sing the dirge. But for today, my heart sings after reading this post. Thanks my friend.
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon! Yes, my wife and I love being near mountains, trees and the nature surrounding us. You are so right about, " the cleansing and healing," in such an environment of creation. I am happy your heart sings and I pray you can find time to breathe in the wonder of Spring.
DeleteThanks for your faithfulness to show up every month! I like the expansion of "dancing" added to the singing metaphor - even a dirge is an important expression. I love the pic of your lovely granddaughter in delight as well!
ReplyDeleteHi Tracy! Yes, dancing seemed to fit into the Spring-like atmosphere I hoped to create in this post. My granddaughter, Whitney, always finds joy in life in spite of her many health challenges. I couldn't resist including this pic of her. She was having fun outside after the rain stopped. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughtful inclusion of different aspects that make your heart sing, Alan. Even a lament (dirge) is a song that can glorify the Lord. And I love how you express that we can sing with the melodies of nature.
ReplyDeleteHi Sandi! The melodies of nature surround my soul all year round. Thank you for your comments and encouragement, my friend.
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