Sing!

If your life was a song, what would it be? A classical number? Country or rap or rock?

Sing, a song written by Joe Raposo for Sesame Street, was later recorded by The Carpenters. The first verse goes, “Sing, sing a song, sing out loud, sing out strong. Sing of good things, not bad, sing of happy, not sad.”

I’m trying to apply that philosophy as the moving saga continues at our house. Beloved items and furniture have been disappearing, and boxes now line some of the walls. The move date is set for late March. Next month in the Prairie Lighthouse blog, I’ll try to post a couple photos of our new little nest, but expect different topics in the future. It’s time to move on from moving.

Sing. The song, is a great alternative to Breaking Up is Hard to Do, which the jukebox in my head wants to play. That’s probably because I just forfeited my 1959 sticker book about Gulliver’s Travels, even though I still hadn’t finished it. The ruby red plates went to Rocket Coffee, the neighborhood coffee shop I plan to frequent. This past weekend all of our sofas and loveseats went out the door.

The last and hardest thing we will do is turn over the keys to this house in a few weeks. When I think about that, the song in my head becomes Friends are Friends Forever, a sentimental song made popular by Michael W. Smith in the 1980s. Back then, I hoped the song would be around long enough to be played at our sons’ graduations. Well, it not only was still popular then, but it’s been playing at graduations ever since. Now it also fits us as we move to a new stage of life.

Although this house has been a friendly place to live, I don’t think that dwelling on music about break ups and leaving friends behind is a good idea. And happy tunes aren’t enough, either. Sadly, singing happy songs didn’t spare either Reposo and Karen Carpenter from dying much too young.

What we really need is music based on more than a good feeling. Songs that build hope and faith in God’s love give the sustaining strength needed for life today.

This week I packed up a stack of song books, some of which had been long buried in our basement. They included one published in the 1970s by local musician Steve Harmon. Fittingly, one of his original songs is Sing to the Lord a New Song.

Other discovered songbooks include a set of Servant Music Songs of Praise from the Charismatic Renewal days, which changed the hearts and lives of millions of people as the wind of the Holy Spirit blew across the world.

Perhaps my favorite is the hymnal from the Presbyterian church at LaMoure, my home church. It magically appeared at the Used Book Sale at Bismarck Public Library a few years ago, just when I was searching for a hymnal since they have disappeared from church pews.

Contemporary music can certainly stir the heart, too. I love it when a song done in church on Sunday resonates in my head all week. One of my favorites from our church is How Great is Our God, by Chris Tomlin. You can look that up on YouTube. Then, close your eyes and sink into the words.

While I mostly sing in “be flat,” making that joyful noise is like sowing seeds for the future, or planting a flag in enemy territory. Even if the enemy is me. Singing helps me let go of the past long enough to reach for the future, for indeed, there is a future and a hope for us all. And humbly I hope that my life will become a song of praise.

Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.

Martin Luther