PRAISEWORTHY

 A continuing series on hymns of the faith.

How many times have you probably sung these hymn lyrics, sensing a bubbling up of joy?

Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty the King of Creation!

O my soul, praise Him for he is thy health and salvation!

Ironically, the man who wrote these lyrics didn't always feel this way about his faith. Born in 1650 in Germany, his father, grandfather, great-grand father and great-great grandfather had all been preachers. But Joachim Neander was the rebellious pastor's kid. At twenty he and other students descended on historic St. Martin's Church in Bremen, established in 1229, to heckle the worshipers. But the pastor's sermon that day pierced his heart, leading to his conversion.

A few years later he became a headmaster of a school in Dusseldorf. While there he wrote more than sixty hymns. But his strong Christian witness and evangelistic work didn't go over with school authorities, and later he was dismissed.

Neander would become known for the long walks he'd take near his home. He used that time for private worship, often composing hymns as he strolled and singing them to God. At thirty, he wrote the hymn “Praise ye the Lord!, the Almighty.” That year he died of tuberculosis. But in that short decade of following God, he'd become a noted scholar in theology, literature, and music, also pastoring a Reformed church in Dusseldorf, Germany.

His life and hymns would have become just a fading postscript of Germany's religious history without the skills of an English woman who lived about two hundred years ago. Catherine Winkworth, daughter of a London silk merchant, became proficient in German and took on as a passion the translation of the great heritage of German hymns. Miss Winkworth, friend of many writers of her day including Charles Dickens, would have her name connected to almost 500 translated hymn texts. Besides Neander's, they'd include “Now Thank We All Our God” and “Open Now the Gates of Heaven.” She would also be remembered as a pioneer for higher education for women.

Some extra history trivia:

*In tribute to Neander, the historic Bremen church where he once heckled worshipers now plays “Praise ye the Lord” on its bells every day.

*His first name, Joachim, is said to be the same as the father of the virgin Mary. It means “established by God.”

*One of his favorite walking spots was a valley that would be named in tribute to him: Neanderthal Valley, merging his last name “Neander” with the German term “tal” or “thal” for valley. In 1856, miners discovered caves with human bones. One scientist thought they might be in the missing link in Darwin's evolutionary theories. That theory was proven false; they likely were just an extinct people known for their strength. It's been said that Neander would have been shocked to have an evolutionary theory attached to a concept he would have rejected.

Sing along with words superimposed on beautiful scenery:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty - YouTube

BLUE GOLD

It started—honestly--with an old-fashioned folding wooden clothes drying rack. My husband, who likes to fix/resell, found it somewhere, cleaned it up, and had me put it in the online want ads. There it sat for weeks until we got a call from folks about four hours' drive away. Could we hold it for their anticipated trip to our town? Sure.

Okay, here's the backstory that involves blueberries. Some of the sweetest memories of my childhood are the blueberries that came off about six bushes in our home's back yard. Our valley was infamous for hungry robins, so after a few years of unwillingly feeding the wildlife, my dad enclosed the blueberry patch in a “cage” he built of chicken wire. Oh how the flying critters fussed. But we got our blueberries, and, frozen, they treated us all year.

Fast-forward several decades to marriage, and knowing my love of blueberries, my husband planted several bushes in our back yard. Instead of the chicken wire cage, I just draped them with netting to ward of bird pecks when the berries started to form. Typically I got two big mixing bowlfuls a year off them. Popped in the freezer, they provided enough toppings for my breakfast cereal for the year. At other times, my husband knew that just buying a carton of fresh blueberries at the store meant more to me than a mink coat or high-brow perfume (neither of which I have owned or desired).

This year, something happened. I barely got a handful of berries. Major crop failure.

Cherry season came and my husband was invited to glean at an orchard. Oh, he went at it. He gave away bags and bags to friends, most of them older folks who appreciated the sweat equity behind such a gift. But his list was shorter than the supply, and we had a plastic dishwashing tub in the refrigerator left.

Enter the customers for the wooden clothes drying rack. Two women came as promised, fresh off hours of either purchasing or gleaning some of the produce of our valley. Right away, by their dress and hair style, I identified them as folks of the religious persuasion that advocated the “simple life.” One bought the clothes rack without quibbling on the price and then asked, “Do you like blueberries?”

She may have well asked, “Do you like fresh air? Giggling babies? Air-dried laundry? Words of appreciation? The hope of eternal life?” We didn't go through that list but she told me to get a container and she'd share some they had picked. I grabbed a small mixing bowl, thinking that was greedy. My husband hollered from the garage, “Give them that tub of cherries in our refrigerator.” Oh, her eyes lit up at the mention of cherries, whose harvest had just ended. I wanted to keep my plastic dishwashing tub, so found a cardboard box they could take and started dumping the cherries. As soon as I emptied my plastic tub, she brought out her huge box of blueberries and--to my astonishment--dumped them into the same tub! It was a summer's harvest for me—and more.

And then they left for their long trip home to presumably can and freeze their bounty for the year. I rinsed and bagged their berry gift, and tucked the blue bounty into our freezer. And I--blessed unexpectedly--cried.

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:3)

“Celebrate [God's] abundant goodness.” (Psalm 145:7)

And finally, as we obey God in our finances and generosity, He says, “I will pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” (Malachi 3:12)

Blue gold. What a blessing.

ANTSY

Bathroom visitors...what were
they hungry for? Toothpaste?

 "Antsy”--the word means “restless, fidgety”--and we were definitely restless and fidgety a few weeks ago when they swarmed into the kitchen. Not two by two, either. Total battleground. We didn't stop to count them but grabbed the spray and poison disks to declare war on these minuscule black critters. It was my fault 😕. I had left on the counter a little ceramic honey dispenser shaped like a bear, with a slot for the serving twirler stick. It wasn't air tight. Or ant tight. What's that saying, “If you build it, they will come”? In our case, it was, “If you leave it out, they will come!” Not just the kitchen, either. They found their way to the bathroom, where I quickly left the poison disk to satisfy their appetites. “Be sure to take some goodies back to your queen,” I told them—not that they heard. As retirees who try to be thrifty, we tend to be do-it-yourself folks. The $70 professional spray is a hunk of money (which rhymes with "honey"). So we decided to do chemical battle and sanitize anything that might have had a scent of "follow me to the golden pot." A few days later, the battle was pretty much over.

I was amused by a recent public television show that featured people (bug scientists) who make a big deal out of ants. They love going to remote places where ants build condos taller than a person. They revel in the organizational abilities of ants—all somehow built into their DNA by our Creator God. No wonder they garnered commendation in Proverbs 30:24-38 with some other animals. “Cronies” (rock badgers) were praised for wise building, locusts for cooperation, and lizards about fearlessness. And ants, praised for their innate sense of preparation: “Ants are creatures of strength, yet they store up their food in the summer” (v. 25). Ants also got proverbial “ink” in chapter 6:

Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores in provisions in summer, and gathers its food at harvest. (vv. 6-7)

That observation is followed by a rebuke to the “sluggard” to get with it! If tiny, seemingly insignificant ants scurry about with this internal work ethic without a boss man nearby—getting ready for the lean feeding times of winter—can we do less when God calls us to excellence in our tasks? Another commentator remarked about how ants carry loads far bigger than they are. I've witnessed that, too—and the lesson for me was 1 Peter 5:7: “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.” When my daily burdens—concern for others, the daily drudge of life's tasks, health challenges and other things that “weigh on me”--get me down, well, God waits to carry that burden for me.

My scripture reading during this pandemic has repeatedly taken me to verses that I memorized or meditated on in previous times of trials. As they encourage or instruct me again, I find myself saying, “Thanks for the reminder, Lord.” I'm glad I “stored up” that spiritual food for these times when pandemic fears nibble at my faith.

“Look to the ant”?--oh yes. Except when they pollute my honey jar....

GET THE POINT

We were browsing a thrift store in a little farm community when I spotted these unusual cowboy boots. They made me think of the extreme pointed toe shoes that came into vogue in my young adulthood, and are still around with their skinny stiletto heels. As someone with foot problems that require (ugh) orthotics and shoes with wide toe space, I have no “pointies” in my shoe collection. But what was the purpose of these boots?

Thanks to an internet search, I learned that these boots are special Mexican dancing boots. The longer the toe (and sometimes it's crafted to curl upward), the more impressive the boot. They're not cheap—typically crafted of exotic animal skins like alligator or armadillo.  They emerged as dance attire around 1880.

I also realized that history repeats itself. In medieval times, shoes with long, curled-up toes were typically worn by persons of royal blood or the upper class. They didn't need practical shoes since they sat around being important and wealthy while their servants did the cooking, cleaning, and farming.

Bottom line: these fancy boots I saw were for fancy solo dance moves. You wouldn't waltz with your sweetie in them unless she wanted bruised ankles. You wore these weird, impractical shoes to show off. These were no “white bucks” some may remember from the early Pat Boone era (half a century-plus ago!). They were built for parading one's dancing style to impress people.

Maybe you've been around people who act like that. Oh, they don't wear the pointy shoes, but they want to be noticed and applauded. I know the temptation. In my years of writing books and speaking at women's events, hearing applause and having people want your autograph were a version of “pointy shoes.” But they weren't to be my style. This phrase kept coming back to me for perspective: “I'm just a nobody exalting a Somebody.” These days, when I write someone, I often use the signature line, “In grace.” That's because I am here only by the grace of God. And in recent years I've dealt with people and problems that have shown me my need to keep growing in that virtue. I'm a Redeemed-Nobody in process under the care of a loving God. 

I have new appreciation for this scripture:

For by the grace [of God] given to me I say to everyone of you not to think more highly of himself [and of his importance and ability] than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has apportioned to each a degree of faith [and a purpose designed for service]. (Romans 12:3 Amplified)

I appreciate the Amplified Bible's careful translation of the Greek to emphasize that “faith” is not just believing in Jesus, but serving Him and living in a way that pleases Him. The emphasis is on humility and service. Yes, a bunch of nobodies (except for the grace of God) serving the great Somebody. No long-toe dancing boots required.

LOVE BLOOMED

 

Forty years ago this month, my husband Rich and I exchanged marriage vows in the little country church where his dad was part-time pastor. Our officiant was a pastor whose family was special to me in early adulthood, and who witnessed our love bloom, then fade when Rich didn't feel ready to support a wife. Almost a decade passed--hard years for me as my parents died while I was pursuing my career and education, ending up halfway across the nation. Then, long story short, our relationship rebloomed and I accepted his proposal. We were 34 and 36, both never married before. 

With my parents deceased and limited funds, I had no desire for a big wedding. Everything was pared down. Free use of the small church. A potluck lunch in lieu of wedding gifts. (As longtime singles, we'd already gathered enough housekeeping essentials.) A homemade wedding dress. A borrowed veil. And a bouquet from someone's garden: one white rose inside a puff of hydrangea. 

We all have our favorite flowers, and my affection for hydrangea goes back to my childhood when that plant grew outside my bedroom window. I've learned that hydrangea are famed for looking like a colony of butterflies. They're not “flowers,” in the sense of single blooms on a stem. They're considered an “inflorescence,” a group of flowers on a stem. The name comes from Greek and means “water vessel.” The Japanese call them “Ajisai,” meaning “water drinker.” And yes, they require a lot of water.

I've also learned that flowers are symbolic of emotions and hydrangeas are “gratitude” or “heartfelt emotions.” That fit my wedding day! White hydrangea symbolize the purity of innocent “first love.” Those would have been okay, too, but I favor the purplish/blue ones. Giving someone pink hydrangeas conveys appreciation for the recipient. Blue is linked to refusing a romantic offer, requesting forgiveness, and expressing regret. Oh my, if I'd known that, maybe I would have had second thoughts of carrying them for my wedding!

And here's another negative: all hydrangea contain cyanide and are toxic to people.

Thankfully, weddings aren't all about the flowers you carry! For us, getting back together was a statement about the grace of God. We chose as our wedding verse (and had someone with calligraphy skills prepare it to hang in our home) Psalm 34:3: “Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”

I spent many years as a newspaper reporter, specializing in women's news and features. That included doing the “write-ups” of hundreds of weddings. Some were quite extravagant and in those “olden days” on a small-town daily, every detail possible was included, even descriptions of the bride's gown and bouquet. But such things are for a day. This broken world will someday end, but God is eternal. There will come a relationship and location that defies imagination, but it perfect and pleasing in every way. The transition is even symbolized as a wedding. In his vision of heaven, the aged apostle John wrote: “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband" (Revelation 21:2).

Weddings in our time have become big business, with many couples and their families spending thousands on attire, flowers, bands, catering, and more. Others have become flippant, with elopements at tiny chapels with Elvis impersonators officiating. For us, not being flashy folks, ours was just right. We had the presence of people we cared about. And, like the symbolism of the flowers I carried, we had “gratitude” and “heartfelt emotions.”

LOVE THAT WON'T LET GO

The hymn's lyrics speak of tracing a
rainbow through the rain: just imagine it...

The history of hymn writers includes three who were blind: John Milton, blind at age 44; Fanny Crosby, blind since infancy, and George Matheson, whose vision rapidly failed as a teenager. Yet all possessed keen spiritual insight: Milton, author of the epic poem Paradise Lost; Crosby, author of thousands of hymn lyrics; and Matheson, esteemed Scottish preacher and author of the hymn lyrics for “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go.”

Born in 1842, Matheson's vision started to go in his teens, and he was totally blind by 18. Yet at 19 he graduated from the University of Glasgow. To enable him to finish his theology studies, his sister learned Hebrew, Latin and Greek. He finished seminary with high honors and was later assigned a parish at Innellan, a seaside resort in western Scotland. His faithful sister continued behind the scenes, helping him with sermon-study and other pastoral duties.

But his blindness also brought heartache. There are stories—not authenticated—that a young woman he hoped to marry broke their engagement when she realized he was going blind. Probably that hurt resurfaced years later, when he was forty, and his sister and faithful helper was married. On the day of her wedding, he wrote the hymn “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go.” This is what he wrote later about its inspiration:

My hymn was composed in the manse of Innellan on the evening of the 6^th of June, 1882. I was at that time alone. It was the day of my sister's marriage, and the rest of the family were staying overnight in Glasgow. Something happened to me, which was known only to myself, and which caused me the most severe mental suffering. The hymn was the fruit of that suffering. It was the quickest bit of work I ever did in my life. I had the impression rather of having it dictated to me by some inward voice than of working it out myself. I am quite sure that the whole work was completed in five minutes, and equally sure it never received at my hands any retouching or correction. I have no natural gift of rhythm. All the other verses I have ever written are manufactured articles; this came like a dayspring from on high. I have never been able to gain once more the same fervor in verse.

Some phrases that suggest his earlier heartache, of blindness ending marriage hopes, includes “flickering torch,” “borrowed ray,” and the tracing of the “rainbow through the rain.” But he cast a vision of higher purpose to his pain, looking forward to eternity. With the risen Son of Righteousness, there will be no more darkness: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4). The more important words in Matheson's lyrics are love, light, joy, and cross.

The hymn was published a half year later in the Church of Scotland's monthly magazine. The tune was composed a year later by a prominent organist. He, too, sensed divine inspiration in composing the music. He wrote: “After reading it over carefully I wrote the music straight off and I may say that the ink of the first note was hardly dry when I had finished the tune.” It was first published in the 1885 Scottish hymnal.

Matheson—a big man whom some likened to America's General U.S. Grant-- would become the pastor of the 2,000-member St. Bernard Parish Church in Edinburgh and known as one of Scotland's most eloquent preachers. He even was invited to Balmoral to preach before Queen Victoria. Later in life he wrote some of the finest devotional literature in the English language as well as some other hymns. He died in 1906, in his 64^th year.

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Hear the late Danny Gaither--brother to widely-known Gospel musician Bill Gaither--sing this hymn about forty years ago:

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go Danny Gaither - Bing video

EDELWEISS

 

Did the title make you think back half a century to a sweet little song in the hit musical, "The Sound of Music"? I admit that the lullaby-like "Edelweiss" was one of my favorites, along with the Do-Re-Me song through which star "Maria" (Julie Andrews) taught her charges how to sing.  And I have something in my jewelry box to remember it: a real edelweiss on a necklace from Switzerland, homeland of my maternal aunt's husband. It's how I remember my Aunt Agnes, who spent much of her life teaching in Panama,  and where she and Uncle Willy met and married--both employees of a banana plantation.

But what of the edelweiss? Yes, it's a mountain flower that belongs to the daisy or sunflower family. But it prefers thin, cool air: rocky limestone places at about 5,900-9,800-feet altitude. Yes, high, rugged places. It blooms only between July and September. The hardy people who lived in the Alps and Carpathian mountains used it for traditional medicines to treat abdominal and respiratory diseases. But they had to search hard for it. It was scarce and short-lived. It eventually became a national symbol of those mountain countries, which of course included Austria, the setting for “The Sound of Music.” Embroidered likenesses of the flower decorated many military badges—thus the veiled message behind the film's Austrian military leader (“Captain Von Trapp”) who sang the song with his musical family before a daring escape from the Nazis.

Oh yes, it's associated with royal love. In 1856 the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph and his wife, Empress Elisabeth, went on a high mountain hike. He picked an edelweiss from a steep rock just for her. In 1865 the empress posed for a portrait with diamond jewelry depicting edelweiss in her hair.

I also think about this flower when I read a favorite old book, Hannah Hurnard's “Hind's Feet on High Places,” a classic fictional “journey” about growing in the Christian walk. Set in Switzerland, it draws lessons from the gorgeous scenery and scary aspects of alpine living. The author described “pure white flowers through whose half-transparent petals the sun shone, turning them to burning whiteness. In the heart of each flower was a crown of pure gold” (Tyndale/Living Books edition, paperback, p. 191). She didn't use the name “edelweiss” but the description fit. The author likened the flowers to heaven's “cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 12:1. She also wrote that such alpine flowers "speak of the beautiful loving-kindnesses and tender mercies which [God} wants to shower on others through us" (p. 287).

About the time I was writing this blog, I heard from my nephew David, who enjoys metal crafting with around-the-shop things like nuts. He sent a photo of a metal flower he'd created for a family member. I remarked that if he'd done it in white and yellow, it would have some resemblance to an edelweiss. A few weeks later, here came one as a gift! I'm keeping it on my desk as a reminder that when I go through life's exhausting climb to eternity, it's the high places, where the going is tough (and the most beautiful blossoms of hope and trust grow), that bring me closer to sensing God's presence.

It's a truth I encounter often in scriptures. I'm to be rooted in Christ Jesus (Col. 2:7), depending on Him instead of my inadequate coping skills. Enduring hardship (like those alpine flowers enduring storms and thin soil) is part of following Christ (2 Tim. 4:5). And in the end, perseverance in trials will have its reward: the "crown of life that God has promised to those who love him" (James 1:7). That's the best analogy for these hardy, crown-like blooms.

Some years ago, someone wrote hymn words to the Edelweiss tune. I really liked them, and wrote them down in my devotional journal. The same for a spiritual adaptation of the "Do-re-me" song from that film. But I have learned I cannot share them in print because of copyright rules with heavy penalties.(1) Sorry. But someday, when Heaven voids all those man-made copyright rules, maybe they'll be among the praise songs we sing with robust voices, around the throne of God. “Sing a new song unto the Lord” we're told in various scriptures.* I can hardly wait.

*Psalms 33:3, 96:1, 98:1, 144.9, Isaiah 42:10.

1. Here is a discussion of the tune infringement: Discipleship Ministries | “Edelweiss” - A Song We Love But Must Not… (umcdiscipleship.org)