Nanny stands in the door of her church swinging her beads around and with one hand with the other hand lifted high in praise. My little brother stands next to me with his little eyes squeezed shut belting out the words. The memories are with me and fade in and out each time I sing this song. There are a lot of hymns in my church history.
He bought me and sought me with his redeeming blood. . .
My walk with God is not just about this moment in time right now. My walk with God, now, is a summation of people and moments who have shaped and inspired my walk with God. To be reminded of my Nanny swinging her beads is to be reminded of how she worshiped and how she prayed. Taking me back to those moments in time through the power of song grounds me in my faith and my faith history. It reminds of who I am and where I have come from. It is my heritage of faith.
He loved me ere I knew him and all my love is due him . . .
When I am anywhere and hear the song Victory in Jesus or any of a very long list of hymns and choruses, my history appears before me and accompanies my worship. I may get tears in my eyes because I am reminded of many moments between me and God. Singing these songs during worship is not just about this moment in time, the time in which I am singing, it is a culmination of my worshiped moments. Singing songs from our history embeds our past experiences in our current worship moment, embodying a new lived experience, connecting the then, the now, and the not yet. Singing songs that have shaped our faith history opens the door for God to speak in this moment through my history.
The hymns of the faith are, for me, part of my worship history. They are powerful players that invite me to worship. When at least one familiar song is absent from a service, I leave feeling ungrounded and disconnect from my own faith, like I have only partially worshiped.
Remembering grandmother, her beads, and her powerful faith empowers my worship, connecting my faith history and my evangelistic future. I can stand on a legacy of faith and not one emotion filled moment that is only about my now.
He plunged me through victory beneath the cleansing flood.
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