Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Tuesday February 27, 2007

The wife and I are not into television, due to many reasons, but on occasion we will have it on and some program will pop up. Such was the case Saturday night past. We were waiting to go to bed and an infomercial began touting the grandeur of Country Music Past. Glenn Campbell was sober enough to MC the show and assured us that were we to part with $149.75 in five easy payments we would receive 151 all time great Country songs. Such inspirational hits as "Your Cheatin Heart" along with "Just Walk On By Wait On The Corner" and my all time favorite, "Rye Whiskey." And of course the all time favorite country neurotic tune, "Stand By Your Man" written in honor of Hillary Clinton, by the late Tammy Wynette who stood by five of her men. I really fought the temptation to rush to the phone and order.

Well, one last tid bit from our thrilling Saturday night past. Glenn told us that the beauty of listening to these timeless songs was:

"An old song carries us back to the times when we first heard it."

I revisited the first twenty years of my now long life and realized I wanted nothing to do with the life or people I was around when I first heard "Four Walls" nor do I enjoy the memory of much older songs. Truth be known there is hardly a modicum of things or events in those years that I really care to bother remembering.

The reality of my feelings hit me like a hammer early Sunday evening as I piddled around my office and heard the strains of the music and singing wafting in from the auditorium as the choir and small orchestra practiced. They were doing an old song, featuring the soprano voices and I began to weep at the beauty of the music and words of a magnificent song, "When He Reached Down His Hand For Me." Talk about memories, precious memories flooding my soul, I went back to the first time I heard the song and revisited the joy in my heart at that time in my life. I had been saved a very short time and Billy Kelly a huge preacher who had been saved when he awoke from a drunken stupor in a poolroom in Knoxville TN, played the piano and belted out his version of the song. I will always fondly remember the night when Jesus reached down his hand for me.

The truth of the power of music is all around us and in my dotage I think it to be tragic that so much 'music' is really gibberish that you can't begin to figure out the words as the song is performed. One man slowed down the playing of one and I thought; thank the Lord I cannot figure out the words of that song.

As I left the study on my journey to the auditorium, a walk of at least 2 feet, Mrs. Sontag remarked that she hoped the practice had not interfered with my study and prayer. I assured her that she is forgiven. I used that phrase in order to keep her on edge, for secure volunteers tend to get a little arrogant.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2007 Use with credit

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