All Together Now!

Our family is a singing family from lullabys, Sunday school choruses, folk songs, silly songs, cantatas, blue grass, or solos in the shower. I can still hear a little voice singing, "Jethuth wuvth da wittle childwen....". Now they sing complex songs like "Wonderful Grace of Jesus" with the different melodies and harmonies intertwining each other.

Being members of a small church, anyone can sing that wants to praise the Lord with music. From the time they could stand up front, the kids have been singing together. They were in Christmas programs, teen choirs, and Easter cantatas. They talked a friend or a sibling into sing a duet with them. Sometimes, they had the courage to sing alone.

I tried not to push them beyond their desire. I wanted it to come from the heart, not from obedience to me. Of course, there were sometimes, when they were expected to sing with a group; but even then, they were taught to submit to authority cheerfully.

They learned harmony and discovered the joy singing together in a different way. With so many voices, they could sing in four-part harmony. Their favorite place to sing was our 12 passenger van, that had no ceiling insulation. The accoustics was great, and you had to sing loudly to be heard above all the rattles and bangs!

They began learning various instruments; piano, guitar, violin, mandolin, harmonica. This added to the styles of songs and the places they could sing. They loved to sing around a campfire or in their grandparents' living room.

One summer, they offered to give pastors' breaks. The boys who had gone to Bible school preached, the girls played the piano, and all of them would fill the rest of service with various musical numbers. It was a wonderful ministry, but life has its way of separating us in different directions.

I was pleased to hear that my sons, Micah, Stephen, Abel, my daughter-in-law, Grace, and a few others from their church in Massachusetts are hoping to continue this ministry this summer. It does a mother's heart good to hear of her children wanting to serve the Lord.

Here is a story that I wrote for FaithWriter's Weekly Challenge that gives a series of snippets of this theme; Singing Siblings