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Music transcends cultures, languages, and generations. It brings us to tears as quickly as it might bring us to goofy dancing. Not all songs hold enormous meaning, but we all have a few classics in our own life that define emotional peaks or troughs. Most importantly, music pulls people together. Since being in the field, I’ve been happily forcing my own musical tastes on my teammates (like the Hamilton or Greatest Showman soundtrack)!
In this spirit of melodic joy and musical community, we visited a local orphanage/school where most of the students had lived in the adjoining dormitories for their entire life. Our team spent the morning helping them practice their English, playing word-games, and throwing in a little bit of Jesus flavor at the end of each lesson.
Naturally, everyone has their own style of teaching, and I quickly found mine in the two classrooms that I led. Taking my cue from Buddy the Elf, I decided that the best way to spread English cheer is singing loud for all to hear! So, we started off with a little ballad on the greatest region in the whole wide world…(notice the essential feet stomping).
Groovy don’t you think? I would’ve shared some David Allen Coe next, but in a gesture of companionship towards our non-Southern teammates, I chose the ageless Neil Diamond classic…
After we finished laughing and singing my “adapted” version of Sweet Caroline, the teacher brought our attention to a young, orphaned girl off to the side of the classroom. She trembled with nervousness at the thought, but she wanted to sing a few songs of her own for us too. Despite her disability and blindness, she commanded a respect among her peers that made me curious. Silence draped the classroom as she made her way up to the front while the rest of us took our seats wondering what to expect.
It hurts me to admit this, but I really only expected her to make some brave effort at singing that we would kindly applaud. Perhaps she had some sweet little Indonesian ditty to sing for us, similar to our American songs. I foolishly tried to steel myself to manufacture as much praise as possible once she finished. Instead, all my thoughts faded once I heard the raw notes of a human soul ring out in a moment of tremendous emotional power….
I stared blankly, with eyes on the verge of spilling over the hot tears that had welled up unexpectedly. I could not breathe, and I could not speak. The only sounds that registered were the deserved applause and the deafening approval of fellow orphans who understood the depth of her pain, sorrow, and loss far more than I would ever understand. What must that longing feel like to yearn for a mother and a father? She needs no pity, but how many of us will ever know cavernous heartache like this blind, disabled, orphaned girl with such a delicate and radiant soul?
Where does she find the strength to go on? Where does she hold the love to find joy in this world? Is there hope for her? These questions lingered in my mind for only a moment before she continued with an answer….
There it is. Her heart is tuned in to Jesus. Maybe you’ve heard that song before, maybe you haven’t. But I guarantee you that you’ve never heard it like that. She may be orphaned here on Earth, but she knows who her Father is above. If I may gently draw a comparison here, you don’t have to lose your parents to know what it feels like to be an orphan. In fact, you can live your entire life with friends, family, and loved ones, but never quite shake the feeling that you ache for a kind of love that no earthly father can fulfill.
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. – Gal 4:4-7
I like to think that God did not merely speak the world into existence (Gen. 1), He sang it. He wove together the stars and the galaxies and the oceans and the continents and your life and mine with the inconceivably beautiful symphony of His voice. His song resonates across the ages in the lives of all those whose trust and faith rest with Him, reaching its crescendo in the death of Jesus Christ upon a cross.
He wants to sing with you on every playlist, every album, and every record of your life. From the most depressing lament to the most elated song in your heart, Jesus is right there with you singing. Whether you choose to sing or not, He’s already serenading you towards His truth, peace, and love.
Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Eph 5:19-20
Everyone in that room on Friday had their hearts ripped out and thrown on the ground by one of the most beautiful young girls that I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting. If all my preparation and all my sacrifices for the World Race had led me to that moment alone, it will have been worth it. She and I may never meet again in this lifetime, but the two of us will be singing in His choir, side by side, forever.
All Honor and Glory and Power to Him Forever
Coleman B
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.
