I was listening to some Chicago the other day. Now before you get all agitated about that being on a blog about hymns, take a deep breath! As I listened, I realized again the power of music to transport us in so many ways - time and emotion to name just two. Chicago takes me to my teens and twenties in a flash. Sometimes I even recall where I was when listening to that tune 'way back when.
There are a few hymns on a similar list - the list of "The first time I remember singing that hymn". Today I'm sharing one of those experiences with you, my reader. (I had to actually check back to see that I hadn't already written about this. I guess I just thought about writing it!) The first time I remember singing "Blest be the tie that binds" was at a family reunion in 1967, Canada's Centennial Year. I must have sung the hymn prior to that, but this occasion really sticks out in my mind. The reunion was my paternal grandfather's siblings and their descendants and until that day, I never knew how many Bull's there were! I don't recall the actual number of people attending, but to a 9 year old it seemed like an awful lot. As we were getting ready to go our separate ways, someone suggested we sing this hymn together. It could have been Dad I suppose but I don't know for sure. I know we sang at least one verse together - maybe more - and when I look back on it, I think that was pretty remarkable. What a blessing to share a hymn together at a family reunion!
Do you have a particular memory of the first time you sang hymn X? Please do share the memory with me.
2 comments:
Thanks for writing that Sis. I don't remember singing it there but I do remember singing it at the Brantford train station in 1956 as John & Natalie Holstead prepared to leave for missionary service in Taiwan. On second thought, it may have been "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again". I'm not sure now, but the image of standing at the train station is still so fresh in my mind and the realization of the distances that can separate individuals have no place in the relationship we can have through Christ.
Did they leave in the summer? (How come you were in Brantford in 1956?) That's a vivid memory. I have other "first" memories which I may write about sometime.
Thanks for sharing this one!
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