Lindy Thompson

Earlier this week I had the enormous pleasure of attending part of the Fellowship Biennial Convocation of The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts in Indianapolis.  As I mentioned in my first blog post, I have been blessed to be able to write songs with Mark Miller for the past year and a half, and we wrote the commissioned piece for this event.  People have asked me what it was like to sit in the sanctuary and hear my own lyrics sung by an exceptionally talented youth choir.  I struggle to find the right words with which to respond, but I think my best choice is amazing.  It was amazing, and I am humbled and grateful and filled with joy.  All glory be to God!!

An appropriate poem for today is one I wrote soon after beginning to collaborate with Mark.

The Power of the Song

The song begins.

The first notes of the music are played,
the voices join the flow,
the story begins to emerge . . .

and we, the hearers,
are grasped by the hand and pulled
to wherever the song will take us –

soaring high to the mountain of God;
moving through the slow, painful labyrinth of change;
kneeling in front of the Master, waiting for healing;
winding down paths of prayer;
pausing by deep pools of quiet.

The song can soothe
or confront,
heal
or expose.

The song can open the soul
to new vistas
never before imagined,
points of view
never before encountered.

The song can breathe strength into the weary,
give encouragement to the down-hearted,
prompt change in the ready,
grant peace to the despairing.

The song is a means of grace,
seeping deep into the bones of the listener,
stirring, searching,
shining light into unexplored places,
releasing growth,
pulling forth goodness
from the mixed daily garden of experience.

The song is a conveyance
pulling us to better perspectives,
firmer foundations,
truer seeing,
renewed vision.

The song is a pathway,
and as we join our voices,
we yield to the pulling,
surrender to the journey . . .

and find ourselves,
as the last notes die away,
standing together
on higher ground.