I wrote a post 2 years ago about ministering and today I have gone back and changed it to fit the experience I had yesterday.
I had the opportunity yesterday to minister at a Nursing Home. I have done it at this particular place about 5 times since I moved to this area. I have loved doing it in the past because I got to do it with my wife but this time around she had another obligation and was unable to go with me. My wife has a voice like a songbird and I have a voice like a Screech owl, so normally went it come to the music, she would lead and I would preach. This time I had to lead singing and normally a lady from the church who has a daughter at home and she plays the piano but this time I had a new lady do it. She turned the piano away from the wall and play loud for which I was very thankful! There were about 35 residents from the home in the room and most of them were in wheel chairs. It was sad because some could not talk, others had limbs that did not work or were not there, and still others you could tell had mental health issues. It was in many ways it was the same sad picture that I have seen before as I got ready to start the service.
Then it happened – it went from a sad picture to something unexpected (even though I have been through this before with them) – I started off with a moment of prayer and then we began singing a hymns. It was wonderful because the residents really sang out! This the loudest and best they sounded in my times going there. Even with being the best they sounded, when the residents sang out this time as in times past the did it with grunts, groans, and some melodic voices. We sang a couple of more hymns and between the hymns I scurried around the room to make sure they all had the right page number. The neat this is that for some of them, it did not matter what they page number was because just sang from memory and never looked at the hymnal. As we sang, you could hear by their voices but more than that, by the looks on their faces, these songs we were singing really meant something to them. You could hear their passion and more than that you could see their passion as they sang. Their grunts, groans, and mumbles as well as the melodic voices were raised in praise to Christ. They did not care how they sounded to others so they sang and sang out. They sounded beautiful to me and I know they sounded awesome to God..
It is such a beautiful thing to see and hear those who look so broken physically and sound broken just raise their voices and grunts and groans in worship God. They were worshipping with all that was in them and it was awesome. All of this has reminded me again of this verse::
Psalm 100:1 – Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands
I believe that more than making a joyful noise they were worshiping – truly worshiping. The were broken, contorted, and some not all there mentally but they were truly worshiping the King of Kings with their grunts, groans, mumbles, and melodic voices. If they can do that – what is wrong with us? Why do we hold back?
How is your singing voice? Do you make a joyful noise and sing with everything you have?
