Companions

“You know when you're young you think you will always be. As you become more fragile, you reflect and you realize how much comfort can come from the past. Hymns can carry you into the future… [They] are companions for life travellers. ” (Andy Griffith)

A hymn is defined by Cambridge Dictionary as “a song of praise that Christians sing to God.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary further defines it as “a metrical [i]composition adapted for singing in a religious service.”  Wikepedia gives a more definitive definition of “a hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. “ The above hymn meanings could include almost any religious song written (throughout time).

When I speak of hymns, I guarantee almost everyone has a song that comes to mind like “Away in a Manger,” “Because He Lives,“ “it is Well with My Soul,” or “Softly and Tenderly.” When I am writing for this blog, I find soft hymn instrumental music from Pandora helps me to better focus on what I am writing (since I have no words my mind needs to focus on).

I believe hymns have made an emotional connection with me. As an adult I long to hear them (as they were written). They make me smile.  My family was charter members of Fellowship Baptist Church (FBC) in Columbus, OH, so I grew up in the religious, fun environment of a fundamental, independent Baptist church. Hymn lyrics were simple enough for me to understand as a child (as the meaning was explained to me). Great biblical truths were communicated to me at my level of understanding.

Hymns remind me of my life at FBC as I grew up. Scavenger hunts with the youth department as well as a trip to Niagara Falls, my wedding, writing for the weekly Homebuilder’s Young Married bulletin, the church’s biblical costume party where I dressed up as the pregnant wife (not in Bible) of the owner of the Bethlehem Inn with my high school graduation robe, the annual Christmas pageant, falling asleep in choir on Sunday morning, being a soloist, church building additions, and the community of FBC helping me get through the death of both my father and younger brother.

It seems fitting to end this post with a hymn that says that Jesus accepts us wherever we are in our Christian walk. Do you agree with the words of the hymn, “Just as I Am?” Will you give God all of you (both the good and bad)?

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come. I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot;
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot;
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind;
Yes, all I need, in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

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[i] By saying that a hymn is metrical, we mean that it has stanzas or verses that repeat the same (or nearly the same) syllabic pattern, just like metrical poems… (“What Is a Hymn?” by Hymnicity)