I woke up this morning with a song in my head. I guess I heard the song on the radio at some point yesterday and it stuck. It’s a perfectly fine song but it has one of those lyrics that will drive you crazy when you can’t stop singing it. I needed to drown out the noise, so what did I do? I added more noise by switching on Pandora. At least it would be a new song in my head.
After getting myself going with some Third Day oldies (I’m sure Mac and the gang would love to know that I now call some of their songs oldies) – I headed out the door with a new song in my heart. At least it was a song that wouldn’t drive me crazy if I sang it all day long.
Feeling a spring in my step despite the rain, and having a little extra time on my hands, I decided to stop in at my favorite local coffee shop for a mug of my favorite blend. This is the kind of coffee shop where artists and non-conformists hang out. There is no drive-thru window because no one is in a hurry. It’s a place to get your coffee to stay, and to sip slowly. If you have tattoos, dreadlocks, or have decided that showering is not for you, this is your kind of place. I don’t have a tattoo or dreadlocks, and I did shower, but yet I feel right at home here.
Sitting at a little side table, sipping a cup of joy, ready to write in my journal…then it happened. A song. A song from the past. It’s John Cougar Mellencamp singing “Jack and Diane.” This song is an actual oldie, although the coffee bar staff turned it up, and sang as if it was brand new.
I feel almost territorial for this song. It came out my senior year of high school. It was a song I sang loudly in my car every time it came on the radio. Long before iTunes, this song was on my play list. It was recorded on a cassette tape that I wore out pushing rewind to replay it every time it ended. The song brings back memories that seem as close as yesterday. Singing it in the car with my friends, my boyfriend, and alone- driving with the windows down, sunglasses on, volume loud enough to make it seem as if I actually sing in key.
Music does something to us physically. We snap our fingers, tap our feet, clap our hands, and when no one is looking, dance around our kitchens. Music has the power to illicit memories, lift our spirits, and make a theme for the mundane. (An old Jackson5 cd goes really well with cleaning the house)
Can this be because we are made for worship? If you are so inclined to use Google to look up whether or not we are created for worship, you will gather an array of theological opinions on the topic. Some say yes, and some (more) say no. Theologically I’m not sure if we’re made for singing, but I definitely think we are created to worship. I also believe that one of the components of worship is rooted in music. Why else would God have our hearts connect with music on so many levels?
I’m not one to wish I had been born in another place or time period, but there is something intriguing about how worshippers sang the Psalms as they walked to Jerusalem for holy festivals. Maybe like my coffee servers sang an oldie from my past today as if it were brand new, I can set my heart on singing the Psalms as if they are brand new.
I’m sure God will be just fine with me turning up the volume and singing off key. If a lyric is going to stick, make it a good one.
Psalm 104:33-34: “I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.”
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