More From Carol Harrison

It has been thirty-seven years since my youngest daughter, Amee, was born. She has long since outgrown my knee but still loves to listen to music quietly playing in the background. She shares songs with me that mean a lot to her or that have words she thinks I should hear too.

My grandson Nathaniel has grown up and now stands six feet tall. He wraps me in wonderful grandson hugs. I love the fantastic relationship we have, even though he lived far away by the time he started kindergarten and visits never happened often enough. He loves music, and he has since he was a young lad. Now I listen to him as he uses his God-given gift of music. He is a percussionist who shares his passion with others in high school, encouraging them to enjoy and participate in band, music, and the arts in general. His drumming has placed him on worship teams at church since he was a young teen, and he continues to serve on worship teams while at Bible School. He continues to learn, study music, and practice it.

I have enjoyed music for as long as I can remember and probably before that. My mother’s extended family sang together with harmony that made me want to sit back and listen. After my grandmother’s stroke at a very young age, she could no longer sing. Although she rocked me, she could smile at me but never sing to me. I heard stories of her being a wonderful singer before the stroke, but I never heard her voice raised in song. Still she seemed content and never complained about what she lost. When other people sang, she sat with a look of contentment on her face.

God has used music and the words of hymns or worship songs to soothe my soul in difficult times throughout my adult life. At a time when the darkness of depression settled like an unwelcome fog, God used the words to old hymns about God’s amazing love to reach into the depths of my being and let me know that he had never left. This allowed restoration to begin as I pictured myself curled up in the lap of my heavenly Father as he sang his love over me.

These images of my children, my grandchildren, my grandmother, and memories of how music has affected me bring the scriptures about God singing over us and loving our praise to life for me. Music continues to play an important part in all aspects of my life and in the lives of many of my family members. What role does it have in your life?