As I was thinking about writing this blog post, I was caught up into so many thoughts and meditations about the gift of memory. But for this post, at least, I would like to just share one—one that my family members have heard MORE than once. This past Sunday we sang the wonderful old hymn There’s Something About that Name and a joyous memory came to my mind. For one treasured year, our son, his sweet wife and our first grandchild, Merry, who is now eighteen and graduating from high school, lived in a small apartment on our country property down a sloping hill from our house. When we were all together in our house, I would take her into the bedroom away from distractions and rock her and sing to her untill she fell asleep. I sang the same four hymns over and over in succession until she fell asleep. Jesus Loves Me, God Is So Good, Fairest Lord Jesus, and There’s Something About That Name. One day my son called me at the church and asked, “What songs are you singing to Merry at night?” I told him and he said, “Oh, it makes sense now. She was sitting on the foot of our bed this morning and woke us up singing the words, kings and kingdoms may all pass away. We wondered where in the world that came from.” She had just turned two years old. Unknown to us until that time, she had learned all four hymns by heart (first verse only, of course). She sang them all for some of the older ladies of our church one day and instantly became their darling, repeating her performance many times for them. One night when we took her to Sunday night service, where we always did about thirty minutes of hymns by request and she was always the only child present, she raised her little hand and said so sweetly and oh so grown up, “Could we sing There’s Something About That Name, please?” And, of course, we did. And everyone loved her all the more! Such a delight she was then and still is!

The pastor of our new church delivers spiritual food with the joy, expectation, and simplicity of a child, but never fails to stir our thoughts and hearts to higher ground. It is a gift. He began the new year with a series on heaven. A lofty topic indeed that leaves much to the imagination because eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man what God has in store for those who love Him. Last week I had such a compelling vision! Not a thought. A vision (of the imagination, if you will). Of the Lord Jesus in celestial spaces, looming, pre-eminent, and welcoming, with outstretched arms, and flowing from Him myriads of people of every sort from every nation full of joyous peace greeting each one who passes from this earth into the eternal sphere through Him (Jesus). And in the forefront, those I’ve loved or known and perhaps influenced or encouraged on their way, who have gone before me. As our pastor said, my “own personal welcoming committee”. Now that will be glory, be glory for me!