The power of a song...

There is power in song... and in smells and sights and sounds. Power to not only change our perspective, but sometimes to take us to another time and place. Last Sunday morning I was in Blumenort church, standing just in front of my padded pew, singing along, worshipping. The light was just right, the temperature was comfortable, there was enough space for everyone to be comfortable, the sound system was great, and the music was awesome. Everything was just as it should be, just as it is most Sunday mornings.

As we began to sing "Because He Lives," I was suddenly a young girl, sitting on a hard slat wood pew, singing my heart out to a poorly tuned piano. Swatting biting gnats. Surrounded by friends, all of us hot and sweaty. The air barely moved despite the ceiling fans overhead and the windows that had only screen to cover them. A leader in our mission community had suddenly passed away the week before, but he and his wife had chosen this as the theme song for our field conference. So we all sang, tears often running down our faces. I cried not for the personal connection I had with this man of God, but for his family and our community. I cried for the reality of death and the uncertainty of life. And last Sunday I cried again, this time for the blessings of life that we leave behind as we move on, for the multitudes of opportunities and experiences we as a family have had, and for the simple reality of living in a sin-filled world.

Life's like that, time sometimes stands still and sometimes rushes by. Things transport us to other times and places and we relive our memories. Or we are stuck in the present, caught in our circumstances and chores, sometimes paralysed by indecision or the magnitude of things before us. One day, beyond time, we will see things as they really are, and we will worship the King. Maybe then we will understand our memories and our present, for we will be truly free!

Beyond time travel, we moved last week and are quite settled into our new place. Kevin should be home from Kansas next week. Garry is busy with various aviation and relief-related projects. Kaleb is making great animations and working hard at school, though he isn't thrilled that he got to spend his spring break moving instead of enjoying friends and time off. I'm blogging when I'm not cleaning or cooking or teaching school. I hope you have a blessed day, rooted in the beauty of the moment while blessed by memories....