Music: The Warm Up Act

The Hidden Art of Homemaking, Chapter 3 - Music

I have an eclectic musical history. I grew up in Hawaii, so I learned to play the ukulele, sing Hawaiian songs, and dance the hula. Mom and I watched Japanese television shows together. I enjoyed the weekly Top 30 singing competition, and I became a big fan of certain singers. Daddy played the guitar and taught me his favorite songs. 

In junior high, my friend and I entered a singing competition, not realizing a local radio station would air the show live. We survived to tell the tale. I later joined the high school glee club and performed in school musicals. We sang a mix of classics, pop hits of that era, and Hawaiian songs. I still have Russian lyrics rolling around my head from a play we performed in. I won't even go into the hours I wasted watching MTV videos. 

Much of the music in my early years was not edifying, but by God's grace there were moments of beauty and goodness. Singing hymns at church. Listening to the symphony. Walking down the aisle in my wedding dress to Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. I am grateful that my God is a God of redemption. Over the years, He has been redeeming every area of my life, including music. 

In The Hidden Art of Homemaking, Edith reminds us that music is a great gift from God. She challenges us to appreciate it, create it, and share it with each other. She encourages us by saying that talent, no matter how small and hidden, can be developed. In her view, Christian homes should be places where there is the greatest variety of good music, so that natural talent may find the necessary spark to set it on fire.

When we began homeschooling, I learned about Charlotte Mason's principles and became excited. I didn't know what I was doing most of the time, but thankfully, one of the ideas that God planted in my head was the focus on hymns and classical music. Daddy had sent me one of his old hymnals from Hawaii, so we started learning hymns like How Great Thou Art, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, and Amazing Grace. We didn't sing with any accompaniment, just with our voices. I loved hearing my kids sing to the Lord with gusto.

We never embarked on a formal composer study like others did, but I played classical music whenever I thought of it, usually during lunch, art time, or in the car. Sometimes I would borrow a book on a composer's life from the library. Elizabeth and Daniel enjoyed Vivaldi and Mozart. Jonathan became enamored with Bach, who remains his favorite composer till this day. We were fascinated to discover that Bach wrote SDG (Soli Deo Gloria) on his music sheets. 

The kids' love for music grew into a desire to learn to play the piano. We discussed the idea one night over dinner, and the very next day God unexpectedly provided a free piano for us along with discounted lessons. We were really encouraged by this evidence of His providence.

Edith says, "For Christians, the idea of making a 'joyful noise unto the Lord' is expressed in the Bible. There is a God who is there, and who is personal, and who accepts music as praise to Himself, as worship when given to Him in this sincere way - without being strained through the 'strainer' of human acceptance." 

Over the last ten years, we've gone to a nursing home every month to share the love of Christ with the residents. When we sing the familiar hymns, their eyes light up to tell us that they remember, they know, and they agree. One resident loves to sing along at full volume, off-key, and his humility conveys what it means to "make a joyful noise." We cannot help but smile every time he sings. Another resident suffered a head injury from a beating. He cannot talk, but sometimes when we sing How Great Thou Art, he cries. He doesn't care that we don't have professionally trained voices. It's God at work, not us.

Daddy with one of his many guitars.

"This is what is meant to be now, and what will continue in eternity. Creative creatures on a finite level, made in the image of the Creative God," says Edith.

Thinking of this reminds me of Daddy in his final weeks of cancer. We sat by his bed at hospice day after day. We passed the time talking about old memories and singing songs he had taught me as a young girl. He loved hymns, so our kids sang to Grandpa all the hymns they had learned over the years. He would nod, and his eyes would well up with tears. On one of his good days, he sang Amazing Grace with us. On another lucid day when he could talk, he said, "I'm going to dance with Jesus!" That's when I realized that we were just the warm up act. 

God was preparing Daddy for glory. 

I can only imagine the songs he's singing now. I can't wait to join him!

[Read more thoughts on this chapter from The Hidden Art of Homemaking Book Club, hosted by Cindy at Ordo Amoris.]

"Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 1 Corinthians 4:16-18