Sing!

Sing!

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.

Colossians 3:16

I remember as a child standing in church next to my grandmother, listening to her sing, and thinking she had the most beautiful voice. Just last week I had the same thought. Even though she doesn’t always sing on key—and sometimes messes up the words— still, Grandma sings with all her heart.

Singing hymns at home is common for Amish families. It’s part of their lives, and sometimes part of their daily ritual.

Mose and Eva sing their hymn as a morning and evening ritual, a pattern to start and end each day. Mose may not have many more days. His lips are blue, his skin color is gray. He has already had one heart attack and two serious operations. He finally decided to toss out the medications—which were only making him sicker, he realized—and trust his remaining time on earth to the Lord. “I’ve already lived two years past the doctor’s prediction,” he said, looking a little pleased. “But I get winded easily now. I’m just happy to be alive.

“I’m ready to go,” he added. “But only the Lord knows the day.” Mose shrugged. “Whatever,” he added, sounding a lot like an English teen. He smiled slightly, at peace with his future.

Mose and Eva lift their faces slightly, eyes closed in reverence as they sing. Their tinny voices aren’t exactly easy on the ears. But they just keep singing, unconcerned by the fact that their voices are neither beautiful nor professional.

After all, they’re not singing for themselves.

Consider making singing part of your morning ritual. Sing your prayers, sing in the shower, just sing!

Dear heavenly Father, help me to remember that the quality of my voice is not as important as the quality of my heart. I praise You today!