How Great Thou Art

The inspiration for today's post came off the radio...literally.  On Thursday on our way to work, my husband decided to turn on the radio.  Wednesday had been a rough day and I found it difficult to find the energy and desire to even go to work on Thursday.  Irregardless, I put on my big girl pants and got up to go to work, figuring I could hold it together for 8 1/2 hours.  That was the thought until my husband turned on the radio and a specific song came on.  Then all hope of holding it together was lost.

 

As a child, I stayed often with my Grandma whether it was a weekend, summer vacation, or sometimes even just during the week when I was too young to go to school.  My childhood was not during a time where VCR's, cell phones, or electronic game systems were available.  At that time, television consisted of a big floor console TV with rabbit ears so even at that time there wasn't much to watch on tv.  Grandma would start the day listening to the radio she had in the kitchen and most often the music consisted of country or gospel music since the Polish music hour wasn't but once a week on Sunday mornings.  It wasn't uncommon to hear grandma singing, as she cooked or cleaned, one of the songs that had been on the radio earlier that morning.  The song  I would hear her sing most often was the gospel song, "How Great Thou Art."  Thursday morning when Jeff turned on the radio, which was uncommon as we often rode the ride to work without the radio, the song that came on the radio that morning was the song, "How Great Thou Art." This was not a common song played on the radio station we were listening to.  Was it a sign from Grandma?  It could be, but whether it was or not, the memories of those times as a child sitting in the kitchen coloring or drawing at the kitchen table came flooding back to my memory.

 

Grandparents are truly special people and I, for one, am lucky to have had the Grandma that I had.  The special bond that we shared is one that I hadn't had with my other Grandma but one that lasted a lifetime.  I loved listening to her singing to the radio, making fresh baked goods and teaching me how to play cards or crochet.  I think it was she who taught me to listen to the words of the music because it could speak words of emotions and feeling.  I would catch her sometimes getting teared up as a song came on that reminded her of my Grandpa.  Mostly, the songs filled her with a sense of strength and faith.  She'd smile as she'd sing it.  While she didn't have a superstar singers voice and sometimes her timing was off, she could hold a tune.  And while it was actually Carrie Underwood singing the song on Thursday morning, the only voice I could hear was that of my grandma as she would stir the food on the stove, moving around the kitchen with grace.

 

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think of God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When I think back to January 5th and her passing, I know she was singing these last words: When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation, and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.  Then I shall bow, in humble adoration, and then proclaim, "My God how great though art..."

 

Today's 50 Shades of Pink color is appropriate to my grandma.  This week's color is called Angelic by Revlon.  This color was in my personal stock of nail polishes and is soft and gentle in color.  My Grandma, as I may have mentioned in the past, was a collector of Angels, whether it was pins, statues, or cards so I know this is a color that my grandma would have probably wanted on her nails!

 

 

                                          "Angelic" by Revlon from my personal collection.

 

 

 

                                             Grandma, Grandpa, My mom, younger sister Melanie

                                             and I in the kitchen at Grandma's first house.