[Dailydevo] Daily Devotion Monday January 22, 2007

[Barry Ludwig]

Monday  January 22, 2007

After a two week hiatus, the devotions this week are prepared by Pastor
Ludwig. He looks at favorite hymn phrases.

 

Earth And All Stars - Stanza 2

"Hail, wind and rain! Loud blowing snowstorm! Sing to the Lord a new song!"

 

When I first sang this hymn at age thirty in 1978, these words communicated
to me that even harsh weather has a voice that praises the creator. I had
not experienced much of life's hardship but I would soon be drawn into all
of the needs and sorrows of my Alzheimer's disease as my Mother sank slowly
into confusion. One Sunday morning in 1990 as I sang these words in church,
knowing that in the afternoon I would be talking to my Father about nursing
homes for my Mom, it occurred to me that perhaps these words were not
speaking about seasons and weather but seasons of life.

In the midst of hail, wind, rain, Alzheimer's, limited funds, high blood
pressure and uncertain futures, the Christian could sing a new song to the
Lord.

But what was that new song?  Complaint about the inequity of life?  Anger at
the injustice, I mused?  Or were those just "old" songs?  Maybe the new song
was one of hope and trust in a God who has promised to be near in good and
bad times?  That afternoon when I visited my parents, I laughed and cried
with my Dad and then held in my arms the Mom who no longer recognized me and
I softly sang to her, "Hail, wind and rain! Loud blowing snowstorm! Sing to
the Lord a new song!"

 

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