“And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened…and there were flashes of lightning.” (Revelation 11:19) For the past couple of weeks, the public television station has been showing Ken Burns’ “History of Country Music.” It has been a fascinating series showing how the genre of country music rose from the working class of men and women. These pioneers from the cotton fields and coal mines gave the world the sounds and words from those who felt neglected.
The Lord stands for the forgotten, the lonely, and the outcast. He has a way of guiding us even when we fail to recognize His hand. In one of the broadcasts, the narrator told how Hank Williams came to write that old gospel song, “I saw the Light.” Hank and his mother were coming over the hill into town, when she said, “Look, we are almost home. I see the lights.”
I have a couple of old guitars. The first one, which I learned to play on, I bought in May of 1982. (I wrote the date on the inside of the guitar.) I was looking at it and could not believe it has been 37 years. I asked Scotty Daniels to go with Susanne and me to Meridian those many years ago to help select the instrument. The memory is as fresh as a spring flower.
I could not wait to begin plucking the strings. The first lesson was late one evening sitting on the patio of Scotty’s home overlooking Archusa Creek Water Park. Scotty, along with Curtis Daniels and myself, began to play. The first song, though I lagged behind while fumbling my fingers to find the chords, was “Amazing Grace.” Three chords, some harmony, and a wonderful time.
This event is so vivid because of what took place. Over the lake, there was a beautiful display of heat lightning. It danced across the purple sky continuously as we sang that gospel song. It was as if the Lord was leading the rhythm section of our little band by plucking strings in the clouds as we belted out, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me.”
I did not know it then, but those early lessons would lay the foundation for singing songs across many states in revival meetings, funerals, and gatherings. With my slow to learn fingers, the Lord danced across the dark sky that night in 1982 and was pointing toward a path that I could not understand at the time. He was shining His light.
A few months back, I was speaking to a group of believers in India via Skype. The children began to sing in their native tongue. I could not understand any words other than an occasional “Hallelujah.” Then, the translator asked me to sing a song. You guessed it, I sang “Amazing Grace.” They worshipped and shouted as I fumbled through the song.
From a patio watching a display of beauty during a nighttime lightning storm to a small village in India, God connected the dots. Praise the Lord for… Heaven’s Flashlight!
