In Communion

So the birthday celebration continued into Sunday...maybe I will push for a birthday "Month"!! 

Last night, Donna, Bill and Emily had a little birthday shin dig for Aunt Jaime!!  A great meal, great gifts and a rousing game of Apples to Apples!!! 

Really thoughtful, fun and heart-warming evening!  I feel celebrated!!!  I love my people!

At the end of the month...a few of us will be making my now, annual pilgrimage to Enchanted Rock/Fredericksburg, TX...that is my birthday present from my Mom!!!  I will be trekking up and down the big rock twice this year...just to add a little new wrinkle to the trip.  I am really looking forward to it...being outdoors...hiking...spending time with my friends..and I always feel more in communion with God when I am in the outdoors! 

Speaking of communion...Saturday night at the Josh Garrels concert he covered an old hymn often associated with communion in churches across this nation.  I could not find a songwriter to contribute it to...but I know that it is an old African American Spiritual. 

The combination of the lyrics and music is a bit haunting and humbling for me.

Let us break bread together
On our knees, on our knees
Let us break bread together
On our knees, on our knees
When I fall on my knees
With my face to the rising sun
O Lord
Have mercy on me, on me
Let us drink wine together
On our knees, on our knees
Let us drink wine together
On our knees, on our knees
When I fall on my knees
With my face to the rising sun
O Lord
Have mercy on me, on me
Let us praise God together
On our knees, on our knees
Let us praise God together
On our knees, on our knees
When I fall on my knees
With my face to the rising sun
O Lord
Have mercy on me, on me

It made me think about communion...what it means in daily life for me...Here is how communion is defined per my friend Merriam-Webster...

1: an act or instance of sharing

2: a:capitalized: a Christian sacrament in which consecrated bread and wine are consumed as memorials of Christ's death or as symbols for the realization of a spiritual union between Christ and communicant or as the body and blood of Christ

b: the act of receiving Communion

3: intimate fellowship or rapport : communication

 

4: a body of Christians having a common faith and discipline

Here is what I love about music and people...the different interpretations and relationships both are capable of..

Music can be sung differently, touch differently, interpreted differently and can trigger any range of emotions depending upon the listener.

For me, the same is true for people. We each are capable of impacting each other's lives in different ways..while we sing the same song...we can touch each others hearts differently and our actions and words can trigger any range of emotions depending upon the listener.

I think that is why I feel most connected or in communion with God when in relationship to music/people...I feel God's presence most profoundly in the moments that I am engaged emotionally, spiritually with the people that I find along my Journey. 

Now please forgive me if I am getting a little too deep...in the weeds...but as people have asked me how my birthday was...I really found myself thinking that this birthday...this potentially non-descript turning of the page from 46 years to 47...has been one of the most heart changing birthdays I have had in a while...

I found myself surrounded by moments of communion...with my friends...with great music...with wonderfully thought provoking words and I found myself completely loved by God...a "no-doubter"!
By communion I mean...I had the privilege of "sharing" time, words, space and music with people I love...everything from the Josh Garrels concert, singing in the car, or singing a stunning version of Sound of Music's So Long, Farewell with my Mom, Emily and Donna at the kitchen table...trust me..you would have loved it!!!  :)  All of that wrapped up in time and fellowship with my "people"...those people that at times, may be "singing the same song" in my life...but are each touching my heart in unique ways.

So in theme with singing the same song and it reaching different parts of us...below is Josh Garrels version of Break Bread and a version I found on You Tube...though unfortunately, I cannot credit the singer..Same words...different voices...same message...different heart delivering that message.  One thing in common...Being in Communion with God...with Each Other.

I love the fact that this birthday has made me think...even more...about how I connect with God daily and that further deepens my love for those around me that touch my heart and change it for the better.


I am Forging On!!! Phil 4:13


Break Bread-Josh Garrels

Break Bread Together