Month: April 2015

Since I was led to share my grandmother’s and my mother’s favorite hymns as launching pads to share how sacred songs have influenced and are influencing my life, I had a slight struggle with where to go to next.  There are so many hymns that have shaped my life–so many that God and I use to keep my relationship with Him fluid and growing, even to this very day.

If I had to choose one that has consistently and persistently shaped my life of faith, it is this one–Great is Thy Faithfulness.  It is not about me, the creature; but rather it is about the Creator-God and this attribute of His that I have known, depended on and trusted most of my life.  Through the many storms of my life, His unchanging faithfulness, has continually carried me, whether I was aware of it or not..

This hymn has been labeled “a hymn for Ordinary Christians,” largely because the author referred to himself as “just an old shoe.” He was just a simple man with simple faith in an extraordinarily faithful God! I believe ordinary would describe most of us, if we are honest.

Ordinary Christians need to know of God’s unchanging character and unfailing compassions; we need to be reminded of God’s faithfulness in maintaining the order of His universe; and we need the comfort of God’s faithfulness in forgiving our sins, providing strength for today and hope for tomorrow. All leading to the great and robust crescendo of the words that Jeremiah coined in Lamentations–Great is Thy Faithfulness, Great is Thy Faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see, All I have needed Thy hand has provided…

It is a hymn that we did not sing in the church of my upbringing; it is one I actually learned as a young adult.  However, it speaks volumes over how and why my ordinary life continually finds its “extraordinary essence” in Him!

My Story…My Song…GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God, My Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee,
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness,
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a Peace that endureth,
Thine own dear Presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.

CHORUS:
Great is Thy Faithfulness, Great is Thy Faithfulness,
Morning by morning new mercies I see,
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy Faithfulness, LORD unto me.—-Public Domain

THE ORIGIN OF GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS:  Thomas Obediah Chisholm was born in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky in 1866. He received his education in a little country schoolhouse, and at age 16 began teaching there. He became a Christian at age 27, and with no college or seminary training was ordained to the Methodist ministry at age 36. He served as a Methodist minister for a year, but ill health made it impossible for him to continue. He moved to Vineland, New Jersey, where he opened an insurance office.
Always interested in poetry, Chisholm wrote hundreds of poems during his lifetime. He was inspired by Lamentations 3:22-23 to write the text for “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” Those verses read, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Chisholm experienced that faithfulness. He suffered ill health most of his adult life, and never made much money –– but he said, “God has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care which have filled me with astonishing gratefulness.”
Chisholm sent the words to “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” to his friend, William Runyan, and Runyan wrote the music for this hymn. Runyan was a friend of Dr. Will Houghton, the president of Moody Bible Institute, and “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” soon became Houghton’s favorite. Dr. Houghton invited George Beverly Shea, an unknown singer at the time, to sing hymns on the Institute’s radio station. Shea, of course, included Dr. Houghton’s favorite hymn in his repertoire.
Billy Graham, then a student at Wheaton College, became familiar with George Beverly Shea (and this hymn) through those radio broadcasts, and invited Shea to become part of his ministry. It was through their work that this hymn became popular internationally.
Even though he suffered ill health for most of his adult life, Chisholm lived to the ripe old age of 94. During his later years, he lived in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, a Methodist camp meeting town, where he died in 1960.  (www.lectionary.org, –– Copyright 2007, Richard Niell Donovan)

HOW I HAVE BEEN SHAPED BY THIS SONG
From a child I have had a love affair with the Church.  I always loved going and worshipping and being involved!  Most of my life has been spent as a “faithful member” according to the standards of human church leadership.  However, there were days (in my young adult years) that I found myself being in greater relationship with the Church than I was with The God of The Church.

I rarely ever missed and served religiously; I even made it a requirement for my children.  In retrospect I can tell you that it was a “form of godliness,” but in sheer ignorance, I was denying the authentic power of God to be realized in my life.  I loved the LORD, I was saved, but I was living my Christian life in my own power, under my own authority and my focus was getting what I wanted when I wanted it and how I wanted it.  Life was all about my pleasure and my needs first, and even though I was usually sitting on a piano stool in the church, God was not my priority!  My relationship with Him, other than when I was at the Church, consisted of me telling God what I wanted and needed and expected of Him and pouting when things didn’t come as requested.  (I did have sense enough to thank Him when I got my way and to say grace before I consumed His blessings.)

Now, let me hasten to say that as I have begun maturing in my faith, I have come to believe that some of my old behavior falls under the category of youthful folly.  The Bible speaks of it.  And, my point is this:  our faithful God even uses our ignorance, our youthful folly, our carnality, our disobedience, our sin, our feeble attempts at righteousness, our self-centeredness, even our religiosity to draw us closer and closer to HIS PURPOSE for creating us.  How, I thank Him for His steadfast love and faithfulness, even in my wanton-ness and wandering–my blatant UNFAITHFULNESS.  

I always loved the Bible; I think it was because of the fascination I had with my grandmother’s ability to read it and understand it, though she was limited by her education.  But she did it several times a day EVERY day.  It was as though she was meeting God in it.  It was like He was speaking to her, solving her dilemmas, giving her direction or something.  It was strange to me as a child, but it piqued my interest.  I was drawn to it.

As I began to long for more than what Church was giving me, I returned to the example of my grandmother.  And though I had to report for work very early in the morning, many of my nights, after finishing caring for my children, was spent devouring His Word.  My love affair with the Church (as we know it) began to diminish, but my relationship with Jesus began to soar and broaden and deepen–ALL BECAUSE OF HIS FAITHFULNESS TO ME!   Listen to Jeremiah’s words in Lamentations 3:19-24:    “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him'” (Lamentations 3:19-24).

Nearly 75 years after Mr. Chisholm coined this great hymn about the incredible faithfulness of our God, an anointed choir director-mother-pastor’s wife penned words that very well could have been written by me, for they are MY WORDS!  Carol Cymbala speaks of God’s faithfulness past tense as she is in the midst of one of the greatest storms of her life.  Her words describe my sentiments and my journey perfectly.  She said:

In my moments of fear,
Through every pain every tear,
There’s a God Who’s been faithful to me;
When my strength was all gone,
When my heart had no song,
Still in love He’s proved faithful to me;
Every word He’s promised is true.
What I thought was impossible I see my God do.

Chorus
He’s been faithful, faithful to me.
Looking back, His love and mercy I see.
Though in my heart I have questioned-
Even failed to believe, yet He’s been faithful, faithful to me.

When my heart looked away–the many times I could not pray,
Still my God–He was faithful to me.
The days I spent so selfishly
Reaching out for what pleased me,
Even then God was faithful to me.
Every time I come back to Him, He is waiting with open arms
And I see once again

Chorus
He’s been faithful, faithful to me
Looking back, His love and mercy I see,
Though in my heart I have questioned–
Even failed to believe, yet He’s been faithful, faithful to me.—————————————————Carol Cymbala

As I have traced the course of my life to this point, I see with great clarity the power of His Faithfulness to me!  I have had numerous moments of fear; I have shed buckets of tears; there have been days when my strength was all gone and my heart had no song, but as I look back over my life, I can truly say, what I thought was impossible, I’ve seen God do!  I cannot begin to count the many times that my heart looked away or the many times I could not or would not pray. If I tried to share the days that were spent in selfish pursuit of some worthless aim, seeking for something or someone to please me, only to be left broken-hearted and hurt again, words would fail.  But every time, I knew I could run back to Him for shelter, comfort and help; and guess what, every time He was standing right there with open arms.  I’m talking about a FAITHFUL GOD!  A Faithful God, who, never left my side even though I was forever wandering…

There is someone just like I was 35 plus years ago at Church every Sunday out of habit more than sincere follow-ship, reading this.  You have not yielded your life totally to Jesus…I write this one for you with tears streaming as I write.  Please hear me.  When I fully returned to The Faithful One I committed every member of my body to Him and pledged that “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 89:1)  That is my daily goal!

My prayer is that my story and my song might be the impetus for you to realize “Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.”  And when you realize it, surrender completely to it!  Your life will be blessed; He will make it brand new,  I GUARANTEE!!

 

It has been said or at least, implied that certain traits and habits in our ancestry skip generations.  Whether it is fact or myth, I think that is the case as I’ve been thinking about this post.  In my physical appearance, I look a lot like my mother and have several of her traits, however, there are several other things about me that I notice are more like my grandmother than my mother.

One such example is this:  my natural inclination toward being openly expressive in worship; both of my grandmothers (my maternal one, that you met in the first post, and my paternal one) were shouters. That is, when the Holy Spirit was moving, those sisters got moving with Him…“they just couldn’t hold their peace”… “couldn’t help themselves…”  They would be jumping with hands and voices raised  OR holy dancing gracefully and soulfully down the aisle.  And those two sisters could go! Often, they set the tone of what we called “the Spirit was high today” OR “we had some Church today.”  That was an almost universal African American understanding of “high church.”   (see note at end of post)

This is My Story…This is MY Song…DIGNIFIED PRAISE

At the opposite end of the spectrum is my mother; without the slightest exaggeration, she was the total opposite!  She was NOT the shouting kind of woman! I think a part of her even saw those expressions of the “Spirit’s movement”  as undignified!  And to be totally honest I must admit, sometimes it does look like dignity-lost.  (Mother would have been totally content in some of the places I have served since her ascent to Glory–quiet and quick!) But because I grew up with not one, but two “Holy Ghost-filled shouting Baptist grandmothers,” I grew up believing that sometimes we just cannot explain how the Spirit of God moves and works.  My seminary education would later try to explain it away as something called syncretism, which, simply put, is to say that human nature tends to fuse indigenous beliefs and practices about God with a differing and totally foreign belief system about the same.  While, at its core I believe there are remnants of who African people were before the Westward diaspora, there is something vastly unique about African American Christian Worship.

My revered friend and colleague, Dr. William “Bobby” McClain, Professor Emeritus at Wesley Theological Seminary and author of “Come Sunday:  The Liturgy of Zion,” says and I quote, “Black worship is not merely a replica of white worship nor the reenactment of African tribal rituals, but a third entity created to offer refulgence to a people weary at heart. Its liturgy and theology are derived from the cultural and religious experience of a people struggling to appropriate the meaning of God and human life in the midst of suffering.  This tradition encouraged celebrating the power to survive and affirming life with all of its contradictory realities.  Spontaneity and improvisations are necessary corollaries in such a tradition.”  (McClain, 1990)

I boast (in the LORD) of two grandmothers of African descent, who somewhere STRONG in their DNA, had the inclination toward African religious beliefs about the spirit world.  They were both offspring of parents or grandparents who were part of “slavery’s invisible church.”   They were themselves part of the foundation of what we now call the African American Church.

My mother, as different from her mother as she seemed to me as a child, most always sat quietly in church; every now and then she might nod or smile or on rare occasion, wipe away a tear.  A choir member, she loved singing in the choir and whenever she led a song it was totally dignified–she did it with all perfect enunciation and musical competence, and absolutely no outward show of emotion or expression.  Strange to me, because I loved the dancing and whooping and shouting…and I wondered, why my mother didn’t.   What I have learned as I witnessed her live life to the fullest is what the prophet Isaiah records in 30:15:  For thus saith the LORD GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: but you would not.  My mother did.  Even in her dying, it was in quietness and confidence that we witnessed her strength.  She was quiet, dignified, reserved, classy, but a REAL disciple.  Her example prepared me for the places God would send me to serve.

What I am still learning for myself from her favorite hymn’s impact on her life and witness is confidence and firm-ness in that confidence…truly Blessed Assurance…that Jesus is hers…Blessed Assurance…that life with Him on earth is only a foretaste of Glory Divine…Blessed Assurance…that she is indeed an heir of salvation…Blessed Assurance…she is a purchase of God…Blessed Assurance…she is born of His Spirit…Blessed Assurance…she is washed in His blood!  (While I am convinced that my mother had the assurance of all these things , I am likewise convinced that they are true to all who would dare trust God.)

My mother understood with certainty that the Spirit of the Living God “lived, moved and had his being” in her.  Her confidence was not based on any feelings or outward expressions.  Her assurance was founded upon the Word of God and His faithfulness to keep His Word.  She knew that she did not have to be like her mother or either of her sisters or anyone else in her expressions of her love for and fellowship with Christ.  Mother knew that she didn’t have to dance or shout or lose her dignity to be totally authentic in her walk with Christ.  She lived and died “being confident of this very thing, that he who had begun good work in her would perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  (Philippians 1:6) Mother lived and died with that blessed assurance…

Blessed Assurance was written in 1873 by Frances J. “Fanny Crosby.”  Here is the story of the penning of that hymn:

BLESSED ASSURANCE: “One of Fanny’s dearest friends was Phoebe Knapp. While Fanny lived in the Manhattan slums and worked in rescue missions, Phoebe lived in the Knapp Mansion, a palatial residence in Brooklyn, where she entertained lavishly. She was an extravagant dresser with a wardrobe full of elaborate gowns and diamond tiaras. Her music room contained one of the finest collections of instruments in the country, and Fanny was a frequent houseguest. One day in 1873, while Fanny was staying at the Knapp Mansion, Phoebe said she had a tune she wanted to play. Going to the music room, she sat at the piano and played a new composition of her own while the blind hymnist listened. Fanny immediately clapped her hands and exclaimed, ‘‘Why, that says, ‘Blessed Assurance!’ ’’ She quickly composed the words, and a great hymn was born. Many years later, D. L. Moody was preaching in New York at the 23rd Street Dutch Reformed Church. The Moody/Sankey meetings had popularized Fanny Crosby’s hymns around the world and had made the blind poetess a household name. But whenever she attended a Moody/Sankey meeting, she refused to be recognized, disavowing acclaim. This day the church was so crowded she could find nowhere to sit. Moody’s son, Will, seeing her, offered to find her a seat. To her bewilderment, he led her onto the platform just as the crowd was singing ‘‘Blessed Assurance.’’ Moody, Sr., jumped to his feet, raised his hand, and interrupted the singing. ‘‘Praise the Lord!’’ he shouted. ‘‘Here comes the authoress!’’ Fanny took her seat amid thunderous ovation, humbly thanking God for making her a blessing to so many.”  (Morgan, Robert J., Then Sings My Soul:  150 of the Worlds Greatest Hymns Stories, 2003)

HOW I HAVE BEEN SHAPED BY THIS SONG:

BLESSED ASSURANCE: It is ironic, I believe, that as I share with you my mother’s favorite hymn, I am bombarded by memories of how much I have detested having to play it.  Not because I don’t love the lyrics; quite the contrary, but I detested the musical score; of all the hymns I had to play as a young pianist, it is the one in which I felt totally incompetent trying to play.  My piano teacher insisted that we learn what was written on the page and I could do that well.  But at church improvisation, to some degree, was the norm for the singing congregation.  I could not transpose very well and I could not improvise anything in the key of D–the key signature for Blessed Assurance in every hymnal I have ever seen.  To be totally candid, I still am not thrilled playing it for congregational singing because every congregation knows it and likes to sing it in the key of D.  I have run across a few excellent, improvising soloists who prefer it in a different key, but I have not had the pleasure of ever playing it for a congregation in any key but D.

Of all the things–my mother’s favorite hymn has always caused me sweaty palms, (BTW, I don’t think I ever disclosed that to her, even when she had me play it for her at home).  Every time the hymn, Blessed Assurance, came up and I was at the keyboard, I was stripped of my self-confidence…I always felt like “I can’t play this song.”

But do you hear the real irony there?  The dynamics of playing Blessed Assurance have caused me great angst and frustration over the years while I have often turned to the lyrics for consolation.  Could it be for me, and maybe for you, a reminder that God has given His blessed assurance to those who follow Him in EVERY circumstance of life, no matter how trivial the circumstance might be? You see, regardless to how nervous it made me, I have managed to play it hundreds of times over the years, all three verses and the chorus at least four times--all because of the grace of His blessed assurance.  

What “key” is causing you angst today?  Your “key” may not be a literal keyboard note–it might be a real life situation that seeks to strip you of your confidence–not only in yourself–but, most importantly, in the One whom you have trusted to always “work all things together for your good, because you love Him and are called by Him.”  Hear me clearly, I have been talking about musical notes and compositions and musical scores, but I, too, have had my share of real life situations…situations unrelieved by neither a shout nor a whoop; it was in quietness and in confidence that I found strength for the journey!  Those moments of stillness and calm in the Presence of the One who can always be trusted…the only One in whom I have placed ALL my confidence.  I have gotten through some painful, deep terrains of life just like I have gotten through playing that wonderfully awesome hymn, Blessed Assurance, so many times–by the grace of His blessed assurance!  (and, my friend, you can, too!)

My mother spent a lot of time in the kitchen and throughout the house creating a home for us, but the most consistent image of her in my mind is on her knees by the side of her bed…every night…not for a few minutes, but for long periods of time…in quietness and in confidence!  These are a few of the valuable lessons I learned watching and reflecting on the life and witness of my dignified mother!

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels, descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.  (Public Domain)

Note:  In my experience with the African American church, high church is when the Spirit is moving and people are expressing their response to His movement in an overt and often loud and genuflecting manner.  On the other hand, churches deriving from the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches tend to call high church those moments when the classical music is flowing, the lecture is quick and the liturgy is perfect English literature.

Having recently “officially retired” from a lifetime of ministry in the church (first as a musician and Bible teacher and later as ordained clergy), I often spend time with the LORD in reflection mode.  I believe the Holy Spirit has me to reflect on the paths I have already travelled in order that I might learn from them for the dual purpose of 1) sharing what I have learned and 2) preparing me for the road that yet lies before me.

I have been led to share these reflections with those who might be interested in gleaning some small nugget from what I have learned (and am still learning) about living this gift, the present, the gift we call LIFE.  And I think of my life in terms of not just an ordinary, mundane existence, but rather as a life “showered with grace” in order that that life might ‘shower’ other lives.

I am also led to share from MY vantage point–the perspective of a single parent, a church musician, a Bible study teacher, a Women’s prayer retreat coordinator/leader, and an ordained pastor/Preacher woman of African descent…in other words,

This is MY Story…This is MY Song…   

Let’s consider what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy: “. . . I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5 AKJV).

Timothy’s grandmother had this faith and was able to pass it on to her daughter, who then passed it on to Timothy. In this example, the faith of God was passed down through at least three generations.

My friend and highly respected colleague, Safiyah Fosua, aka Andrea Bishop, says in her devotional book, Mother Wit, and I quote: “whenever I think of my grandmomma, I am reminded to read my Bible.  And whenever I talk to my momma, Jesus’ name always seems to come up in the conversation.  Living in the faith has become an expected norm, because of the faith of my foremothers.  I, too, am a mother.  I pray that my faith will also rub off on my children in permanent ways. As parents, we can only guess about those aspects of our faith that might impact our children.” (Fosua, Safiyah, Mother Wit:  365 Meditations for African-American Women, Abingdon Press, 1996)

As a child, matter of fact, as a fetus, I was taken to church.  For as long as I can remember the church has been an integral part of my life.  In my formative years, the church of my upbringing was across the street from our home (and remains there to this day), so there was no excuse for not getting there…on the regular, as was the discipline, example, and mandate of my parents and grandmother.

I was privileged to be born into a loving family that sought to live an active faith in THE ONE TRUE GOD.  He was truly an honored guest in our home.  My mother was the youngest child, so when she and my dad married, they lived with my widow-grandmother; and when they built their first home, they brought my grandmother with them. My grandmother lived with us all the years I lived in my parents’ home and beyond until God called her home. (Back then sociologists coined that living arrangement an extended family). I grew up, in essence with three parents, however, my grandmother only made decisions when she was the present adult, which was most of the time, because both of my parents worked. One of the strong characteristics in my family was faith in God. In the church of my upbringing, there is one woman who stands out as the mother.  She was the spiritual mother to everyone in this church, matter of fact, the neighborhood.  I remember resenting everybody referring to my “Mama” (the name we called her) as “Mama Taylor.”  I now understand that was part of God’s intended purpose for our little church home and for my grandmother during that period of time.  And the fact that God chose to form my faith in the cocoon of this PERFECTLY imperfect home across the street from the church is, to me, indicative of the Sovereignty of our God.  What I believe God wants me to convey is that if I had been given the opportunity to choose my family, I would have chosen the one I was given.

It has been said that the Apostle Paul understands that there is no inherent conflict between personal and communal aspects of faith. In other words, No human being is born an orphan. We are all born into a family. The Bantus of South Africa say, Umuntu, ngamuntu, ngabantu—a person is a person because of other persons. None of us is here today without someone else having paved the way for us. That’s why Paul affirms Timothy’s faith by recalling his first community of faith—his PERFECTLY imperfect home. His grandmother and his mother–Lois and Eunice.  And, even though the community of faith that is the focus of this post is my family of origin, you will see in the weeks and months and years ahead that because of that formative community of faith, I (and my siblings) was introduced to the expanded community of faith called the Church, the Body of Christ.

The impetus for sharing this pathway is song…sacred song…music that has helped to shape my life in grace.  I have chosen to begin by lifting the songs that make up the “hymnody of the Church.”  In an age that we have heard coined as the Post-Christian age, we see the Church giving up so many traditions and customs.  The very things that have survived and helped us, as God’s people, to relate to Him and His will in our lives.  We now experience them being eliminated from the practices of worship and teaching in the Church. While I realize that some things are simply matters of preference and have no authentic connection to “worship in spirit and in truth,” I contend that hymns are not in this category.  And therefore, I find this elimination sad and disheartening.  To that end, I write…

I think it fitting to begin this path with the hymn that was favored by my grandmother.  Her favorite hymn, Close to Thee, has likewise become a favorite of mine.

Allow me to briefly share the origin of this hymn; the lyrics were penned by the late Frances Jane ‘Fanny’ J. Crosby  (March 24, 1820-February 12, 1915).  (Incidentally, she was born exactly 70 years to the day before my grandmother).

“Silas Vail was a hatter by trade, but writing tunes for gospel songs was a steady avocation. There are two slightly different stories as to the origin of this lovely song. Ira Sankey, in his volume My Life and the Story of the Gospel Songs recalls: ‘Silas J. Vail, having composed this tune, brought it to Fanny Crosby, and requested her to write the words for it. As he was playing it for her on the piano, she said, ‘That refrain says “Close to Thee, close to Thee.”’ Mr. Vail said that was true, and it was agreed that it should be a hymn entitled Close to Thee.’  But the author herself originally called the song “Christ, the Portion of His People.” And Fanny Crosby, in her book Memories of Eighty Years, says:  ‘Toward the close of a day in the year 1874, I was sitting in my room thinking of the nearness of God through Christ as the constant companion of my pilgrim journey, when my heart burst out with the words.’  It’s possible that there is a way these two stories are both correct to some degree. Then again, Fanny having written between 8,500 and 9,000 songs, sometimes even forgot that she’d written a particular piece. But that is not as important as the beautiful wedding of heartwarming words with a fitting tune.” (Cottrill, Robert, Wordwise Hymns:  Hymns their History and Meaning, 2012)

HOW I HAVE BEEN SHAPED BY THIS SONG:

CLOSE TO THEE:  As a pianist, many songs that I have played in the Church have had a very classical music style on the score.  Serving in the church of my origin, this particular song was in a favorite key in the Gospel Pearls and in that tradition, it was sung and played as a slightly longer-metered hymn which the pianist embellished, causing it to sound different than when played directly from the page.  Many songs that  we will peruse here will have musical scores that are not my favorites, however, this song, Close to Thee, is both lyrically and musically among my favorites.  All along my pilgrim journey, Savior, let me walk with Thee!

In my memory, I can hear my grandmother from the kitchen, stirring a pot on the stove or from the ironing board in the den, singing these words:   All along my pilgrim journey, Savior, let me walk with Thee. It was usually followed by a “Yes Sir–please Master, let me walk close to Thee.”   That memory is so vivid!  You see, even though my parents were young and busy with trying to provide in those early days, Jesus was always part of the conversation in our home, and then, largely because of my grandmother.

On my journey this song has served as a reminder for me to stay connected to my Savior.  This song has shaped the most important relationship in my life…my personal relationship with my Savior!  Even during those times when I was seeking other gods, I was always drawn back to the arms of my LORD and Savior!  He stayed close to me, even during those times when I was not seeking closeness to Him!

If I have had any success, especially in relationships in this life, it is in direct correlation of how close my relationship with Christ was at the time.  There have been those times where it was evident in my personal relationships that my relationship with Christ was suffering.   We love because God first loved us.  If anyone says, I love God, and hates a brother or sister, he is a liar, because the person who doesn’t love a brother or sister who can be seen can’t love God, who can’t be seen.  This commandment we have from him: Those who claim to love God ought to love their brother and sister also (1 John 4:19-21 CEB).

On so many levels, Mama modeled staying close to Christ for me.  With only a seventh grade education, she understood the importance of being close to Christ.  I was privy to her reading the Bible at different intervals throughout the day and was aware that she was comprehending what she read because she was able to tell you what the LORD was saying to her through His Word.  It was as though she picked it up whenever she needed to hear from Him!   Oftentimes throughout the day we would witness her just talking to Jesus or praising Him with a song or a shout.  I marveled at her ability, and have come to realize that it was the Holy Spirit revealing the wonders of God to her, but it was because she stayed close!  All along my pilgrim journey, Savior, let me walk with Thee!

I am aware of how many more advantages I have been blessed to have than she had and I realize that more is required of me because of that.  As I continue maturing in my faith, I know beyond any shadow of doubt that each and every day must be spent seeking His Presence and even, being aware of His Presence when I am not seeking it–knowing that Christ alone is my portion–EVERYTHING I NEED.  Thanks, Mama, for teaching me the importance of staying close to the LORD…for teaching me that living daily close to Jesus is all about transcendence in my thoughts and actions.  It is Heaven right here on earth!!! Living close to Jesus helps me see all people, situations, and relationships with His eyes–His heart!!  All along my pilgrim journey, Savior, let me walk with Thee!

Thou my everlasting portion,
More than friend or life to me,
All along my pilgrim journey,
Savior, let me walk with Thee.
Refrain 1:
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Close to Thee, close to Thee;
All along my pilgrim journey,
Savior, let me walk with Thee.

Not for ease or worldly pleasure,
Nor for fame my prayer shall be;
Gladly will I toil and suffer,
Only let me walk with Thee.
Refrain 2:
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Gladly will I toil and suffer,
Only let me walk with Thee.

Lead me through the vale of shadows,
Bear me o’er life’s fitful sea;
Then the gate of life eternal
May I enter, Lord, with Thee.
Refrain 3:
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Then the gate of life eternal
May I enter, Lord, with Thee. (PUBLIC DOMAIN)