Finding a song

A couple of years ago my parents gave me a gift that I have greatly treasured ever since. It's my very own Lutheran Hymnal.

To be honest,  a decade or so ago I would have gladly traded in a hymnal for a few worship CDs full of new songs. You see, I was raised in a traditional church, but had grown to appreciate more free forms of worship, due in large part to my parents' involvement in the charismatic movement of the 70's and 80's. Once out of college, I was quick to join a church that valued the free flow of the Spirit, and all things new. But I cannot tell you what a comfort it has been at times when my faith has stretched thin to be able to open the pages of this book and find anchor-points of truth: songs and prayers that are imprinted in my memory from childhood, expressions of faith that have been on the lips of my parents and grandparents and so many ancestors that have gone on before in the Lord.

I am so glad to live in a time when there is such an influx of new songs in the Church. I recently commented to a friend that just as God's beauty and reality is seen in creation, I see testimony of his existance in the songs that come forth from the hearts of his people. It feels almost miraculous to hear a new worship song.

My dad is a wise man; his words of inscription mean so much to me. Sometimes we need to borrow from the songs of brothers and sisters in the Body - both past and present - to discover the songs that are written on our own hearts. 

Comments

[Lori]

What a beautiful gift! I like your parents.