Sunday, September 9, my phone rang. It was one of those calls you hope you never receive.

Lee Morgan, a good friend, wept uncontrollably on the other end of the line as he asked, “Please pray for me! My daughter Erin died this morning. A tree fell on her house as she and her husband were sleeping. We’re on our way to Greensboro, but I needed someone to pray for us and I thought of you!”

In shock and despair, we prayed together, and then he was gone. My heart ached for him and his family for I had recently lost a grandson in a sudden tragic accident. Nothing can prepare you for such gut- wrenching pain!

Fast forward seven weeks. It was Sunday, October 28, and I sat in my usual spot at Trading Ford Baptist Church. I was pleased to see Lee and his wife Ginger sitting a few rows in front of me and made a mental note to speak to them as we left. The service began. The music soared. People rejoiced as hands waved in praise. Then the offertory began—an old hymn—Be Thou My Vision—one I did not remember having sung in years.

The song itself was out of the ordinary for our church, yet something out of the ordinary was also happening during the song–and the rest of the congregation and I were oblivious to it.

As if by divine appointment, Ginger exited the church at the same time I did while Lee stopped to talk to my son Jon.

We greeted each other, and then she asked an odd, unexpected question. “Do you know how they pick the music for the service?” she asked.

A bit befuddled by her question, I responded, “Well, I assume Devin, our music director, picks them. Why do you ask?’

With tears in her eyes, she said, “Well, they played that song Be Thou My Vision at Erin’s funeral. I like the song and had wanted it played for her service but I never really told anyone except Lee. You can imagine our surprise when we got to the memorial service and it was one of the songs we sang. Today is Erin’s birthday, and again I was surprised when we sang it. In fact, when I turned to Lee and looked at him, we just burst into tears.”

“Wow,” I commented. “Isn’t it awesome when things like that happen! I just love those ‘God moments.’ When they occur you just know the Lord is showing up in a special way!”

As we left for our cars, I could not help but rejoice that the Lord was ministering to his children on a very difficult day.

Meanwhile, in his separate conversation with Lee, Jon had invited him to my house for Sunday lunch. As we gathered around the table, I asked Lee to share his account of his “God moment” with my family. Through tears, he told the story.

He explained their amazement when Be Thou My Vision began to play at today’s worship service just as it had at her funeral seven week earlier. Then his face lit up as he also described the overwhelming sense of peace he felt after mere seconds of listening to the hymn. God’s peace had filled  him and enabled him to sit back and rejoice in the music instead of weeping. He realized that he was indeed experiencing comfort from the Lord through an old hymn.

After all the lunch guests went home, I decided to learn more about Erin since I had never met her. I also wanted to know more about the hymn Be Thou My Vision.

Erin, it seems, was an amazing young woman. According to her obituary, “Erin was a Greensboro native and Wolfpack graduate who was a vibrant woman and lover of life, and tirelessly gave of herself to make others’ lives more whole. Whether she was hosting supper club or using her giftedness at United Way of Greater Greensboro, she gave to others wholeheartedly. Erin embodied such radiance and strength that she could give it away to others in abundance. Her endless supply of love and contagious joy left everyone feeling loved and unconditionally accepted. She was an active member of Christ United Methodist, and deeply committed to her relationships formed there.”

The history of the song Be Thou My Vision is amazing as well. Believed written in Ireland in the 8^th century by a blind Irish monk, the hymn survived the centuries until Eleanor Hull translated the lyrics and paired them with a traditional Irish tune. Today the hymn has risen in popularity as contemporary artists have recorded it. One of the most beautiful versions I found was by Selah if you want to check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-EDkAB9boc

In retrospect, as Lee and Ginger tried to make sense of Erin’s untimely death, they felt the Lord’s presence through this hymn written hundreds of years ago first at their daughter’s funeral and then again on her birthday. In so doing, they joined the multitude of Christians who have been comforted in miraculous ways through the Lord’s divine intervention and his gift of music. Regardless how He speaks to us, though, He gives us gentle reminders that He is our light both by day and by night. He is the source of our vision, our comfort, our wisdom, our inheritance, and our victory over the struggles of this life! Below are the lyrics to the hymn. May they bless your heart as they have blessed people through the ages.

Be Thou My Vision Lyrics

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art –
thou my best thought, by day or by night;
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my great Father; thine own may I be,
thou in me dwelling and I one with thee.

Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise;
thou mine inheritance, now and always;
thou and thou only first in my heart,
high King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
may I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

What about you? Has the Lord ever burst into your world and comforted you in some divine way so that you knew it was Him reaching out to you? Lee and Ginger felt his presence through song. You may have had other “God moments.” If so, I’d love to hear about it!

The scriptures assure us that “The Lord your God is in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 (NKJV)

 

P.S. My son Joe who was one of the musicians in the praise band on Sunday, listened in awe at Sunday lunch as Lee shared his “God moment.” Joe was so touched by the story that he texted the rest of the band to encourage them as well.

He also sheepishly confessed that he had complained to another band member about playing the song because it just didn’t seem to fit in with their contemporary music. He admitted the Lord had taught him a valuable lesson of a very different kind through this incident. He concluded that it is not up to us to pass judgment on the type of music we sing and play for we never know what the Lord may be doing in the minds and hearts of the listeners. The scriptures remind us,

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV)