old songs with us.
Settle back for a time; relax and share this time of remembrance
with us, won't you?
the years of many generations: ask thy father,
and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.
Deuteronomy 32:7
I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works;
I muse on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee:
my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land...
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning;
for in thee do I trust:
cause me to know the way wherein I should walk;
for I lift up my soul unto thee.
Psalm 143:5-8.
Isn't He, Christ my Lord, wonderful?
Eyes not seen, ears not heard
What's recorded in God's Word.
Isn't He wonderful, wonderful?
Sunday was the MOST important day of the week in our family. Each of us had our own reasons for it, but as a family unit, it meant we could truly rest from our labors. With the exception of food and water for the animals and meals for the family, it was a day to simply relax and enjoy. Sunday was not "catch up" day: whatever hadn't gotten done the previous week would have to wait until the following Monday. It wasn't used to stretch the work week, either. Most businesses closed so their people could go to church, too. Everything slowed down; there was no rushing about--our family spent Saturday afternoons and evenings in preparation for Sunday. Baths taken, clothes pressed, Bibles and Sunday School lessons put where we could find them the next morning.
From the earliest I can remember, "Sunday" was synonymous with "church"; to NOT go was the EXCEPTION and then it was due only to serious illness or severe weather conditions. We didn't go to church out of a generational obligation--we WANTED to go. It was there we enjoyed the fellowship of friends and loved ones as we worshipped the Lord together.
We wanted to sleep in every other day of the week, but Mama never had to urge us out of bed on Sundays. We'd wake bright and early to smells of Sunday dinner already cooking, the gauge jiggling and hissing as the pressure cooker let off steam. We'd all meet at the breakfast table. Daddy'd say the blessing and we'd pass the food around, while he and Granny "hauled their coffee". (Do you know what that is?) Daddy always made sure to mention his sermon topic so Granny could "instruct" him how it "ought to be done". It was a fun start to a wonderful day!
In those days, folks came to Sunday School and stayed for church. Weather permitting, the children were allowed to romp outside for a while before service started, their mothers "sternly" warning them to "Not get those clothes dirty!" If it was warm enough for us to play outside, the windows were open. Parents could check on their children without any difficulty. A few minutes before service started, one of the men would call us in.
Often, we'd have guests for Sunday dinner. Daddy was famous for inviting folks to "come eat with us" which sent Mama into spasms. She'd chide him for such short notice, but she always managed to fix plenty for everyone. Ever so often, we'd be invited to have dinner with a family from the church. (Dale and I "preferred" being at home--we could change out of our "Sunday best" then.) Most Sunday afternoons, we'd all enjoy a period of resting before Sunday night service. Everyone would retire to their respective rooms for a refreshing nap.
Sunday nights were grand in their own way: the youth had an hour to play "Bible Sword" and answer Bible trivia questions. Prizes of homemade cookies, Bible bookmarks and such were awarded to the winners. Regular Sunday night service began at 7:00 p.m. However long the service lasted, an "altar call" was always given. It was Sunday, you see, no hurry.
Jesus whispers sweet and low:
"Fear not, I am with thee. Peace, be still,"
In all of life's ebb and flow.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know.
Fills my ev'ry longing, keeps me singing as I go.
Soon He's coming back to welcome me,
Far beyond the starry sky;
I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown;
I shall reign with Him on high.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know.
Fills my ev'ry longing, keeps me singing as I go.
Some of the folks lived close enough, they'd go early to turn up the heat and get the building warm in cold weather. In summer, they'd open the windows. (No air conditioning--we had people-powered fans.) The musicians were among the first to arrive--from about mid-April to early-September, one could hear the music from a long way off!
As they are now, the last several rows of pews was always occupied. The difference is, then it was with things folks brought for a "pounding" (food items). There was almost always someone who needed help; women brought canned goods or vegetables they had "put up". The men went to the homes of those in need and made repairs or helped however they could. No one was criticized for asking for help--but they could get scolded if it was found out they had needed help and not asked for it!
The congregation was made up of farm families, factory workers, a truck driver or two, and several schoolteachers. There was never a lot of money in the offering plate, but they gave faithfully of their money AND their time. Several of the men went by the church on Saturdays if anything needed "fixin". The women got together and quilted when extra money was needed, using the money earned to help a family in need, buy Sunday school material, or get a new convert a Bible.
If any of the elderly needed a way to church, whoever lived "out their way" would stop and pick them up. The older folks taught the younger ones: recipes were swapped, sewing questions answered, home remedies recommended. Many a young man got his basic training in carpentry by working for some of the older men after school and during the summers.
Children were important in the church: little ones always sang some group songs in the morning after Sunday School; older children were encouraged to bring their musical instruments and play. "Vacation Bible School" began the month after school let out for the summer, and lasted for two weeks, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Oh the games we played, the crafts we learned! Mothers made lunches, tables were set up outside every morning--we truly regretted it was only once a year!
Without all the modern conveniences we have today, people STILL had more time for one another then than they do now. If there was sickness in a family, the ladies took turns "sitting with them". If a family didn't show up at church, someone went by to see them after service. When a new family moved into the area, a group from the church went to their home and invited them to church. The several times a year "traveling" ministers and their families came through, they were "adopted" by someone for the length of their stay. Revivals were held SEVERAL times a year and lasted at least a WHOLE week.
The annual "Homecoming" was the "high spot" of the year. New "picnic-type" benches were built and set up in the side lot. Ladies cooked for days. Special singers were invited, but the regular church folks were not excluded, either. Everyone participated. It was an "all day" affair and started right after church on a specific Sunday each year. The singing alone would last for several hours. Testimonies were shared, and a good time was had by all. It was the love of people for one another that made it that way.
Since Jesus came into my heart.
Floods of joy o'er my soul like the sea billows roll
Since Jesus came into my heart.
There was a completely different view of Sundays back then: they were the day of rest between weeks of hard work. They were the day folks came together in one mind and one accord to worship the Lord. The services were not rigidly constrained by a set program. If someone came in and needed prayer, sometimes "prayer service" would last the entire morning. There were times the song service cancelled that morning's sermon.
There was no "canned music"--oh, the sound of guitars, banjos, tamborines--even an occasional harmonica! The musicians were among the first to arrive for service. Few, if any of them, had any "formal" training, but how they could play! Quite often, the piano had a number of notes "out of tune". Between the dampness that crept into the building and those who played with "great fervency"--there were keys we avoided until we could get a tuner to come out and put it right again. The musicians would set up and begin playing shortly after they got there. By the time service started, folks were in the "right frame of mind": we had gathered to worship the Lord!
There was no sitting through the song service. We were happy to be on our feet, rejoicing and praising the Lord. We didn't go to be entertained and "watch a performance"; we participated! Folks clapped their hands to the music and sang along--there were no choirs to sing FOR us. Sadly, many of those wonderful old hymns have long since been abandoned, yet they spoke to one's heart. They were written by those who had experienced that of which they wrote:
Isn't He, Christ my Lord, wonderful?
Eyes not seen, ears not heard
What's recorded in God's Word.
Isn't He wonderful, wonderful?
We always knew we had "been to church" when service was over. Our hearts had been poured out, our voices lifted in prayer and praise and worship, our spirits refreshed. The world had been shut out for a few hours and we had renewed strength with which to face the following week. That's what we went to church for, my friends: to be revived in spirit through the witness of God's Word and His love in the lives of our friends.
Oh that we would return to the values of Sundays long past. Time set aside to be spent in prayer, praise, worship--in ONE mind and ONE accord, our hearts opened to the moving of the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus said about people in Matthew 13:15, the hearts of far too many folks today are ...waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
"Gone, But Not Forgotten" Copyright © 2002 by Patricia Sikes.
All Rights Reserved.
make known his deeds among the people.
Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him,
talk ye of all his wondrous works.
Glory ye in his holy name:
let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.
Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.
O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good;
for his mercy endureth for ever.
I Chronicles 16:8-11,34.
I will remember the works of the Lord:
surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of
thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary:
who is so great a God as our God?
Psalm 77:11-13.
He Keeps Me Singing
Since Jesus Came Into My Heart
Medley
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