Nostalgia!!

Oh man....what an amazing night I just had!! By some miracle I managed to find a friend here in the city who actually shares my appreciation for southern gospel music, so tonight we went to a concert out in Sherwood Park...and I have to say, THAT is the music of my soul!!! Tonight I was taken back to my childhood like I haven't been in a long time....it was as if I was sitting at the piano again, playing old hymns, grandpa standing behind me with his hand on my shoulder as he sang along with great enthusiasm. I could close my eyes and there we were, together as a family, all of us, cracking open the songbooks, each taking our parts, filling the house with perfectly blended melodies.

The beautiful harmony...the powerful words...the humor...the sense of family...the hope...all of it spoke to me so strongly tonight, and suddenly I wasn't willing for that part of my life to be forgotten or left to die off. I want to keep this part of my heritage thriving for future generations....the only question is how??

Anyway, I glimpsed a little bit of heaven tonight...and I guess that, even if nights like tonight are going to be few and far between, even if our family gatherings are getting harder and harder to arrange...we still have eternity to look forward to! And I have to think that heaven's going to be about a whole lot of gathering around the throne of Jesus, joy radiating from our faces, hands raised, as we sing our hearts out in worship to the King. Acapella, of course. The tenors, altos, basses, and sopranos all doing their part...every note precise and perfect. And we'll laugh and dance and clap without a care in the world...kind of like the frail old man in front of us tonight who jumped up and down for literally five minutes during a rousing rendition of "It's Shouting Time In Heaven!" I LOVE IT!!!

Oh what a day that will be! :-)

Me and Debbie...still pumped on the ride home. :-)