How BIG is the REAL You?

As I continued my study based on Isaiah 12:2 this morning, I thought of my wife in conjunction to a line in an old Disney movie.  The old family favorite entitled “Condorman” is a 1981 spy spoof about an eccentric comic book writer who is asked by a friend in the CIA to deliver diplomatic papers to a civilian Russian in Istanbul and later to help that civilian, who turns out to be a beautiful Russian Secret Agent, to defect to the USA.  The movie is filled with many bumbling but yet successful and spectacular actions accomplished by the writer who takes upon himself the make believe identity of his comic book super hero Condorman.

At one point following their initial escape from Italian agents acting under the directions of a top Russian spy, Condorman looks over to the lovely Natalia Rambova of the KGB seated next to him in his super-hot race car disguised as an old gypsy camper and with bashful but yet hopeful anticipation asks if she is single.  To which she turns her eyes to the sky and with a dreamy look that sends Condorman swooning replies… “Yes, I am a free, single women!” And while it is true that my wife easily sends me to swooning with her smile and bright brown eyes, the reason that line reminded me of her was the “free” part of the statement.

Reading from Isaiah 12:2 throughout this week got me to thinking that the words “strength”, “song” and “joy” are often implied and/or used together throughout the Bible.  I began to see that it is difficult to really have any one of these Godly qualities without the other two.  I realized that in my Christian travels over the last forty some years in various churches, with Christians from diverse denominations and working closely with congregational members in the five or six churches where I was on the Pastoral staff, the individuals that always were an encouragement and a vivid reflection of the light of Christ were those who were joyful and strong in their faith and embodied a song in their lives that oozed with the goodness and love of Papa God.

I think that is what defines the “SONG” that Isaiah, Moses and David among others, expressed in their writings. It wasn’t just about singing a song of praise to the Lord in response to His goodness and love, but is all about BEING a song unto Him and therefore to the others in your individual worlds!  I know many talented singers and musicians both secular and in the ministry who would define their musical talents as “What” they are or do, but I wouldn’t say that it is “Who” they are. 

The “Who” is what is inside of you.  It is the passion that drives and motivates you.  It is that song of your life that empowers you with the ever present joy and strength to do whatever He calls you to do, whenever and wherever He calls you to do it!  It is like the type of person that takes the lemons that are given to them in their daily lives and turns them into a sweet tasting and satisfying lemonade!

That is the “free” statement from the movie that got me reminiscing about Piper.  I’ve told many times of her joy filled countenance that drew me to her back in that English class in high school.  She was unusual because her joy and complementing strength did not seem to me to be based on outside stimuli.  She tended to move on her own beat.  She was driven by an inner song that embodied everything about her.  When we got together I quickly learned that her song was written and orchestrated by her relationship to Jesus!

And speaking of making lemonade out of the lemons in life… I can tell of countless times when her strength and joy from the song of her life changed challenging situations in our family and ministry to ones of laughter, peace and healing.  Like the time she was supervising some youth as they were cooking pancakes for a church breakfast and one of the cooking teams dropped a large bowl of batter all over the floor.  When I came bounding into the room a few moments later the cooks were all laughing, the floor was quickly being mopped up and the production of pancakes never missed a beat.

Then there was that hot summer day when the truck dumped a large load of landscape rocks on our driveway for our front yard.  As the truck drove away it suddenly seemed like every kid in the neighborhood appeared on our driveway and began playing with and tossing the stones.  Well, I freaked out… but not Piper.  She simply smiled, grabbed a handful of beach sand buckets and passed them out to the kids and made a game out of helping me to transport the rocks from the pile to the area surrounding our new lawn!

I could go on and one like how she’s always has the knack to get me to laughing at myself when I get stubborn or needlessly upset over something at home or at work.  It is that inner song that has always tended to direct her to a peaceful and joyful solution to the situations in life.  I believe it is also the reason she has been able to tackle just about any task in life asked or required of her.  To be perfectly honest, I would be hard pressed to recall a time when she complained about something or someone.  I wish I could say the same thing about me!

I now find myself smiling just about every time I look at a picture of my wife that I have hanging around the house and recall that gleam in her eye or that funny saying or encouraging word that is just a part of who she is.  She may be currently dealing and fighting through the effects of dementia, but that song of her life still shines through and makes a difference in my life!

That’s the same effect that I want to make on the lives that I touch throughout my day.  I want His song to be the REAL me and be heard in a BIG way throughout the airwaves about me.  How about you.  If you’re dealing with weakness, a lack of joy, depression or just plain have a bad attitude about some things in your life, than maybe it is time to start singing or better yet BEING a better SONG!  Have a great weekend.  Get and/or stay in tune to God’s Word and keep asking yourself…  “What SONG am I expecting to be BIG in me today?”