Among the many blessings I received at last week's 5-day Academy for Spiritual Formation on the Psalms was the presence of a friend who knew my paternal grandparents, Ida Mae and Holt Richardson.
At the end of the first worship service, Sharlyn said to me, "When you began the opening service by singing, I thought of your grandmother." Grandma taught high school music classes to Sharlyn in the little school in Lenapah, OK. Grandpa was the school superintendent. An invoking of Grandma Ida Mae's presence -- in our week, in my music.
It was such a powerful reminder of the presence of those who shaped me and who passed along their gifts to me. Grandma and Grandpa's gift of music, Dad's years of shaping and leading the worship services I attended every Sunday, my parent's commitment to start me in piano lessons in first grade. These wonderful people, these wonderful gifts. Thanks be to the creator!
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