Hymns of the Faith

  This morning as I was taking my son Andrew to work, I suddenly burst into singing There Shall Be Showers of Blessing.  It was the rain that prompted me.  I don't know the last time I sang that song.  Like many churches, we sing a mix of both hymns and more contemporary songs.  That means there is less singing of hymns than what I grew up with in the E. U. B., turned Methodist, church in Middleburg.
  I turned to Andrew and asked, "Do you know that song?" He said exactly what I knew he was going to say, "No."  Pity.
  The truth is, I knew very little of the verses, mostly just the chorus.  So I came home, dusted off my hymn book, and sang the whole song  - all five verses.  Then I sang the song directly across from it Ring the Bells of Heaven.  As I did, I thought of an elderly man in our church who died recently.  He and his wife knew all of the old hymns.  Sometimes he would play the harmonica and she would play the accordian for special music and they would sing them to us. 
  I'm grateful for the foundation of hymns that were laid down for me while growing up.  Call me old fashioned, but I think we're losing a great musical heritage in the church today.  But hey, we don't have to wait until Sunday to sing a hymn.  If you don't have a hymnal, find one of the hymns online.  And if you grew up singing hymns, thank God for it.