♪ There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit in This Place ♫

I have told on many occasions of how music and singing have been a major part of my wife’s and my relationship since the very beginning in high school.  We both come from musical families… at least my Mom was musical starting with her time singing the songs from the Big Band era of the 1930’s with a trio in her high school days.  (My Dad has never been able to carry a tune which was always a humorous subject in our household!)  She was also an accomplished piano player and teacher and sang with the award winning choir at her church for over twenty years.  Piper’s Mom is an accomplished singer with a wonderful soprano voice who would sing at various occasions around town and even recorded a children’s album.  Their entire family sang with their church choir over the years as well.

I always loved to sing.  In fact I think that if I had paid more attention to the notes I was attempting to learn rather than singing the lyrics, I could probably have become somewhat of a decent piano player myself!  After some initial help from my brother when we were in a band together in junior high and high school, I basically taught myself to play the guitar.  My brother had the talent, like our oldest son now has (actually all four of our kids could do it!) to pick up just about any instrument and play it!

After the first few visits to my wife’s youth group, she and I began to sing together and it hasn’t stopped since then!  She hasn’t been able to play the piano now for a little over a year, but on one of my cousin’s recent suggestions, I pushed her up in front of our piano a few days ago, placed her hands on the keys, and without even realizing it, she actually plunked a few melodic notes!

So, it is pretty natural for me to see music as a part of her healing recovery.  Yesterday I was singing as I was combing her hair and suddenly changed songs and began to sing the hymn that the congregation had sung at our wedding back on that beautiful July day in 1975.  It was one of Piper’s favorite hymns at that time and declared:

“There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place

 And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord;

 There are sweet expressions on each face,
 And I know they feel the presence of the Lord.

 Sweet Holy Spirit, sweet heavenly dove,

 Stay right here with us, filling us with your love;
 And for these blessings, we lift our hearts in praise;
 Without a doubt we’ll know that we have been revived,
 When we shall leave this place.” *

As I sang it to her in the kitchen, she began to hum along with me and out of nowhere, the prophetic significance of that song dawned on me!  Over the years my wife had always prayed that our home would be a place of rest, renewal, refreshment and peace to whomever ventured through our front door.  Her prayer was confirmed through many testimonies of visitors we have entertained in our various houses!  Some would comment as soon as they walked through the doorway of how peaceful our house was.  At other times guests would state “what a sweet spirit there was in our home!”  Our youngest son even commented about the encouraging environment he felt in our home when he visited with us a few weeks ago.  At times (occasionally to my chagrin…) some of our guests did not want to leave!

 

Throughout the many years of our marriage we hosted 98% of all the holiday dinners with my wife’s family, had countless youth events at our home, dinners to honor and thank the teams of helpers who assisted us in the various ministries we led at the different churches we served in, and always seemed to have a friend or two or three of our kids in the house with us!  Through it all, there was always a sense of joy and peace in our home that was very evident to those who came under our roof!

 

Psalm 40:3 in The Message Bible declares that “He taught me the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God.  More and more people are SEEING this and they enter into the mystery…”  From the oldest of adults to the youngest of our children’s friends, whether saved or not, our frequent guests would find themselves entering into the mystery of the latest God-song that our home displayed!  And believe me, there has been many different kinds of God-songs of praise that were played, sung and demonstrated in our home!  From my wife playing old hymns on the piano, or our family practicing some contemporary Christian songs for an upcoming church service, to our oldest son’s Christian Ska band, or our youngest son’s (not sure what you called it) loud, screaming Christian CD’s (I once had to ask him to translate for me… and the words were actually quite meaningful!), we had it all played and lived in our home!

 

The words to that song that I am sure the Lord placed on my wife’s heart for our wedding service some 38 years ago has come true everywhere we have lived.  We once had a young neighbor who would wash his car on Sunday morning’s right by our living room window when we had our church meeting at our new home for a little while.  He was a musician himself and loved to hear our music.  He and my wife would talk about their mutual enjoyment of playing the piano, and he would ask her about the music she played on Sunday mornings.

 

Wow!  This post is turning into a short story!  So, what is my point?  I guess I would have to ask you again, if the music and songs in and of your life are also drawing those who hear and see them into the “mystery” of God’s kingdom message?  Is your song nothing but an annoying noise unto their ears, or a peaceful, refreshing introduction into the sweetness of the Holy Spirit who is filling your place?  Think about it.  Have a great weekend.  Stay in tune to His sweet, sweet Spirit, and keep asking yourself… “What SONG am I expecting those around me to HEAR and SEE today?”

 

 

*There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit in This Place, lyrics and music by Doris Akers,1965