08.02.06
When I was a kid my older brother made fun of my parents for showing affection for one another in front of us. We would join in saying something like, “Kissie face, huggie bear.” I don’t know where that came from, but it was fun to say and those of you who know Ken also know that he likes to tease.
Naturally, we preferred affection to strong words. I’m grateful for my parents’ love for one another and their determination to stay together now more than 50 years. Wow, Mom! But, even more than that I’m grateful for another love they each showed me through the years. I speak of their love for music and their love for the Lord.
Many years ago my father read the verse, “Ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” That verse became very dear to my dad. After my parents were married, my mother wrote a song that went with this special verse. It has a very interesting name. “Quest.”
Just think, in the 1940’s my family on either side knew very little about the gospel. My mom was one of the first ones to come to Christ in her family, then just a few years later in another part of the world my Dad was sort of the first in his family. When God saved my mom and dad he put something strange and special inside of them. It is a deep and profound dedication to living for Christ and raising their family to serve the Lord.
My mom plays the piano quite well and mostly by ear. She would not consider herself a great pianist, but her playing and singing is now more than ever the dearest to my ear. After mom made sure I learned to read music, I began to play by ear myself. One day I played a song that I knew the melody to, but I didn’t know where I learned it and I couldn’t think of the words. My mom walked by and said, “I didn’t know you knew that song. I don’t think I’ve played it since I was expecting you.” It was a song she wrote and we wondered if the only time I could have heard the song was from the womb. –Hmm.
Church planting combined my parent’s great loves, the gospel ministry and music. They didn’t have a piano, so while mom was expecting me, she played an accordion every Sunday for church. You ever hear how loud an accordion is? –Hmm.
These seemingly unrelated lines have been running through my head today. It causes me to think of the influence the music we listen to can have on our children. It reminds me that our children will catch on to what inspires us the most. As I recall the last lines of my mom’s song, “Quest,” are “When ye shall seek me with all your heart.” My dear parents, with all their talents and shortcomings, truly have sought the Lord with all their heart. The cool thing is, I am so desperately determined to do the same.
I can still hear mom’s piano playing ringing through the house. I may have added a few notes as I am known to do, but if you could hear mom play, you would hear very distinctly how her style influences mine. I probably first heard it when I was—what’s the word—a fetus.
Dad and Mom, Thanks for loving each other. Thanks for seeking the Lord. Thanks for your lovely, Christ-honoring music.
“Quest” By Jane A. Pierpont
Windows Media File
Category: Stories | Tags: | Comments Off
