Another Good Story

 

"Can you see them? Diamonds in the snow. I just couldn't get a good picture of them. I can see some in the lower part of the picture. They were everywhere when we drove to church Sunday morning. What beauty.

 

As many of you know, I love reading stories of how hymns were created. It is fascinating to me to see what prompted a person to write down words, and usually in a very short time.

 

I recently read an article by Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi where she told the story of how "In Times Like These" was written. This hymn is certainly relevant in our own times like these. The words directly points to where our focus needs to be.

 

"A native of Western Pennsylvania, Ruth Caye Jones, was reading the Pittsburgh newspaper in 1943 and was dismayed by the World War II casualty list and the reports of the lack of progress being made by the Allied Troops, because of rationing, food and other daily supplies were scarce. It was a distressing time in the world and the United States. Ruth felt that distress," Moore-Koikoi wrote.

I know we all feel the distress of the times we are living in, and quite frankly, our focus needs to be on Jesus, just as her hymn says:

"In times like these you need a Savior

In times like these you need an anchor

Be very sure, be very sure

Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!" 

 

A pond we drive by each week is iced and covered over by snow. So many fields around where I live and all of them undisturbed, that is except for the occasional deer tracks you see as they walk to their journey.
 

 I love this hymn that points us to Jesus and God's Word. Moore-Koikoi continued: "As a pastor's wife and evangelist herself, Ruth did what she knew to do. She turned to scripture. The words of 2 Timothy 3:1, 'You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come,' came to mind. And she took out the notepad that was in her apron pocket and began to scribble down some thoughts."

 

Any writer will tell you they carry a notepad and pen with them for when inspiration strikes. I've found in writing notes, if I don't write down my thought when words come to me, when I do sit down and write the note, the words aren't there. I have pads of paper all through the house so I can grab one quick and write.

Those scribbles Ruth wrote down turned into the hymn , "In Times Like These." "Soon a tune also came to her mind. She did not realize at the time, but the tune was actually the melody from the chimes of the clock that sat on the mantle in her house." Moore-Koikoi wrote.

 

You know the chorus:

"This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One

This Rock is Jesus, the only One

Be very sure, be very sure

Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!"

 

 

I wish those that do not know Jesus and have no interest in Him, could understand what we have in such a wonderful Savior. The Hope we have. The Truth we know. The Grace given to us freely. The Mercy we don't deserve. The help that is ready and able at all times. The encouragement within our reach. The joy in our hearts that never fades.

 

So whether you write songs, poems, notes, quotes, lists or anything else, keep a note pad and pen where you can pick it up and scribble down words that you are inspired to write.  Ruth also had the immense pleasure to hear George Beverly Shea sing her song during a televised Billy Graham crusade. What a thrill that wold be!

 

Moore-Koikoi closed the article with these words: "God has been known to use the people of Western Pennsylvania to bring about glimpses of God's kingdom here on earth! Maybe today, in times like these, God is trying to use you. Lord, we're available to You!"

Well friends, whether in western PA where I now live, or my friends in Maryland, what glimpses of God can you share?

Sing along: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3jK3x3iMOM

 

A favorite note card for winner?