Heaven-Sent Hymn-Sing

           Sometimes our happiest moments are the unexpected ones, right?...  those unplanned for and spur-of-the-moment types.  It happened at one of our Joni and Friends Family Retreats -- the one down in Georgia.  You know how the month of June can be pretty hot and sultry in Georgia?  Well, at this retreat by the third day most of the disabled kids were down at the slip 'n slide having water balloon battles with their volunteers, and their moms and dads were escaping the heat down at the lake in boats and canoes or maybe they were cooling off inside their cabins.

            There were big puffy white thunderheads above us were filled with moisture and the sun was beating down.  I found shelter under the roof of a big open pavilion not far from the lake.  That's when Andrew and Caron walked up with their children, teenaged Kim and little Stefan who has severe autism and developmental delays.  The family sat on a picnic bench near me and we began chatting.  Once I learned Andrew was a church worship leader, I couldn't help but break into a hymn.  No sooner did I start singing, when he chipped in with some harmony.  That did it!  We were off and running and before we knew it, we kick-started a happy-hearted, Spirit-blessed hymn-sing.  And under the roof of that big pavilion - wow - our harmony resonated and echoed and sounded so, so... big and beautiful.

            I'd say within 15 or 20 minutes, families began wandering up from the lake in swimsuits and towels.  Others left their cabins and brought sodas.  Even the kids down at the slip 'n slide didn't want to miss the action.  Families and children began pulling up chairs and dragging the picnic tables into a circle.  Kids sat on their towels and more moms and dads came who heard the harmony after their workshops had let out. 

            Some brought their cameras and when they wanted to get in a photo with me, I said with a smile, "It'll cost you a song!"  That's when they had to stand there and come up with a song or hymn for everyone else to sing.  Everybody laughed! It was such a refreshing heaven-sent afternoon... a cool breeze of joy for us all!  Andrew employed all his choir-directing skills as the group grew to nearly 100 people!  I tell you, we sounded as good if not better than any choir in the country.  And the thing was, the more we sang, the happier we felt... the more our joy overflowed. 

            It's a fact, friends, singing songs to the Lord and being filled with the joy of the Spirit goes hand-in-hand.  For it says in Ephesians 5, "... be filled with the Spirit, speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."  Yep, that's what happened one hot humid day in Georgia - a four-hour hymn sing - can you believe it -- that one day, we will all pick up where we left off in heaven.

Used by permission of JONI AND FRIENDS  P.O. Box 3333 Agoura Hills, CA 91376

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