My music-filled journey continues. Right now I am in the midst of some changes in my life, ones I am choosing (for a change). The biggest one is getting up at 6am EVERY DAY (not easy for a night owl like me) and walking. We live really close to a lake, but the public access to it is actually about half a mile from our house, so I’ve been walking down to the dock and just sitting and enjoying the sunrise, water, and creatures. Today was especially beautiful. The sunrise itself wasn’t spectacular, but there was a breeze blowing across the water into my face, probably thanks to Hurricane Isaac. The water is normally still, like the “sea of glass” mentioned in the book of Revelation, but today it was moving, like a river current, the waves lapping the shore nearby. And I found myself enthralled by the wildlife – a wading bird has been my companion the last two mornings, grabbing fish for breakfast. The bats swoop overhead and divebomb the surface of the water for insects as a bedtime snack. And just off the end of the dock, maybe two feet away from me, a turtle stuck his head out of the water for a breath. It was amazing!

I listen to my iPod on the way to and from the lake, then take off my headphones to just listen to creation while I sit. On the way home, two songs in particular struck me. The first was a rendition of “Holy, Holy, Holy,” a hymn I love. I’ve never been overly fond of the particular recording before, but today it didn’t matter because it was the words pouring over me that made the difference:

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Which wert and art and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see,
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!

How fitting for a morning walk, spent in prayer!

After that song came one that most, if not all of you have probably never heard of. I ended up with the CD from my roommate in college who belonged to one of those music mail-order programs. She forgot to send in the postcard that month to refuse auto delivery of the CD (Images of Faith) and ended up with it, offered it to me, and it’s been one of my favorites ever since. The artist is Marty McCall, who writes and sings what he calls “ancient music.” The tunes are haunting, somewhat Celtic in nature, sometimes sounding like Gregorian chant. The song this morning was the title track from the CD:

“Images of faith, pictures that run deep within the hollows of our hearts and in the dreaming of our sleep.” The verses give lists of Biblical imagery that we often associate with familiar Sunday school stories, but today the chorus resonated for me because God had given me a whole new list of images for my faith life – the water, the waves, the bats and birds and turtles. Each a reminder of His love for me, each bringing me a measure of joy and peace to start my day.