Hit my Head...Wrote a Song

I was hanging our laundry out.  The lines were in a roofed (but open) place, and I didn't duck low enough.  I banged my head against one of the supports.  Later that morning I did what I had been doing for a while, walking up to the church to play the piano and sing...just Him and me. I had the keys, since I was in charge of the music.  Going there gave me a lift for each day. I'd wait til the kids were off to school, get some housework done, then head to the piano.  (I didn't have one of my own then.)  I would play hymns, choruses, etc., but also would play around on the keys, just creating chords or sequences.

But this time something happened.  The playing around on the keys actually whirled me into a full song.  I kept it going, and wrote down the basic lead, plus the words that seemed to just appear. I could hardly believe it.  I had actually written a song!  I had always thought it would be awesome to be able to write music, but never dreamed it would happen to me.  Of course, one song didn't really make me a composer!

The song (El Precio) was written in Spanish (as most have been since then), and was a very simple, unsophisticated acknowledgement of  "The Price" He paid, and an affirmation of our gratitude for what He did.  It's more lyrical and rhythmical in Spanish, but I'll give you a rough translation (don't expect it to rhyme in English!):

                 The law of God demanded blood as the price for sin.
                 Unblemished calves, goats, sacrificed on the altar.
                 And in the Temple, only the priest could enter, in reverence,
                 for a great veil separated him from God and his Presence.
                 God of justice, God of truth, how can we be freed?
                 It seems hopeless, the debt is heavy.
                 Who of us has no guilt?
                 But God understands, and has compassion, and offers to pay the price.
                 Even before the world was made, He had an altar ready,
                                       a sacrifice prepared.

                          It was on that wooden altar where Jesus died for me,
                          thus satisfying God's law, because He was a Lamb without blemish.
                          And in the Temple the veil has ripped, in a proclamation of mercy.
                          We can enter the Holy of Holies to enjoy his Presence.
                          Oh, God of  love, God of kindness, my freedom cost so much!
                          Today his tomb is empty.
                          The Light of Life illuminates the world.
                          What great love! What a daring (bold) victory!
                                 Christ conquered death gloriously.
                          Now, our hands freed of chains,
                                  let us lift them before the God that we adore.
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A week-and-a-half later, I wrote another song...and another. Two months later, I had written six songs. I thought, "Id' better not bump my head again...it might reverse the process!"

 Sometimes in-a-row, sometimes with large time gaps between them, I continued to write songs.  They pretty much decided when they'd appear! I couldn't "force" them, so I let them come when and how He saw fit.  But once in a while, something would happen to steer a song in a specific direction.

About two months after writing the first song, our missionary and national church community suffered through the tragic losses of three people.  It seemed so hard to bear...and spilled out into a song.  I'll share it with you in the next blog. God bless you until then.
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