Thursday, July 19, 2007

Harmony

The story is... that when I was just a little girl, my mom and dad set me on a chair between them as we sang as a trio in the little country church. Mom sang alto and dad sang tenor and I was taught to sing the melody, so I learned to harmonize at an early age. I have been blessed to be part of a heritage that can sing four part harmony easily.
As teenagers, my sister & I and two of our friends formed a ladies quartet. Every week we got together to practice. However these "practices" were often filled with so much giggling, laughing & talking, that we often got a reminder from our parents to get back to singing. We learned a lot of songs and were often asked to sing at evening services. I was reminded of one of those songs a few days ago when I read Psalm 103.
I can still hear the rich 4-part harmony as we sang....
"From everlasting, to everlasting.
God's mercy falls where'er we be.
Oh soul forget not, His boundless blessings
Our father e'er remembers thee."

HARMONY....what a beautiful word! It can be a blend of colors, a family living together in unity, a delicious mix of herbs and spices, sights and sounds of nature, a marriage of minds, the restoration of broken relationships, an orchestra in symphony, or the blended voices of a chorus.
Harmony only happens with togetherness... No Solo acts. One single person, one voice, one color, one note, one thing, cannot produce harmony unless it joins with another.
I miss the choirs, octets, and trios. It takes much more time and effort to pull together a group than sing a solo, but the rewards and blessings are much greater as we work and practice together. I hope and pray that the next generation would see its tremendous value.

"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers and sisters, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because you were called to this, so that you may inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:8&9

What a wonderful world it would be if harmony reigned!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Esther,
I sure do remember how much fun it was practising with Ruth & Maryanne. We sure worked hard to harmonize well, especially singing accapella, eh?
Yes, I still can remember my bass part in that song you mentioned.
Wish we still had that variety of harmony that abounded years ago.
Your Sis