So here's something that I've been thinking about for the last few days: A former parishioner and dear friend passed away last week. Her children contacted me to officiate at a memorial service at my former church in Cranbury. As always, beforehand, I met with them to discuss the order of service, along with any special requests they might have.
One of their requests was for me to sing. I told them that I would be glad to do so, but I asked if they had any special song in mind. "Well, we know that you sing a lot of John Denver songs, but the one song that means a lot to us is "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
When they said that, it totally knocked me for a loop. Just a few nights before Libi's passing, I had a dream about me learning that very song! I hadn't thought of it in years, and when I awoke the next morning, the tune was still in my brain. I thought that that was strange, but then just forgot about it--never tried to play it...until the family brought it up in our discussion.
For the next couple of days I worked on finding the right key for my voice (Art Garfunkel's range is unreachable by most people I know). But the thing is, I was determined to learn it because of the strange "coincidence" that had so blatantly presented itself. In my personal belief, there really was no coincidence involved here at all--it was purely and simply a message. Who sent me the message doesn't matter, but it was definitely meant to be. "Somebody" helped me learn it (in fact, I don't usually learn songs that quickly) and helped me to sing it on the day of the service.
Experiences like that always remind me to pay more attention to what might be behind some of the so-called "coincidences" that come our way--what do they mean? What are we being told?
Pastor Jack,
ReplyDeleteYou sang the song so beautifully. It was perfect in so many ways. Thank you for that gift that you gave us, my mom was truly honored by it.
Dreams have been very meaningful in the week of my mom's passing. The morning before she died I dremt that my sister called to tell me she was dying, a few minutes after waking I received that exact call. The night before a friend had learned she passed away, he had a vivid dream that I was weeping. I am not sure of the meaning. Maybe simply that God has a plan in this, we are connect through Him, and He is in control. Regardless, I find it comforting (ok, and a little freaky!). :)
Thank you for being a part of our mourning and supporting us through this time.
Jen