Two years ago, while visiting my aunt and uncle, I had the pleasure of sitting with my uncle and we watched YouTube videos of Il Divo. I love men’s harmonic voices and this foursome won my heart.
My uncle passed away a few months after that visit due to a massive heart attack. His love of music and those times we spent talking are memories I carry with me. He gave me a glimpse of my late mother that I never knew by sharing stories from his childhood.
Tonight, my commute home was longer than normal due to heavy traffic. Someone loaned a few CDs to me and one happened to be Il Divo. She claimed Il Divorce to be an acquired taste and seemed surprised when I told her that I happen to love the quartet. During the traffic jam, I heard the song You’ll Never Walk Alone. Tears sprang to my eyes and I saw my uncle sitting at the computer saying, “Listen to the words. Do you know how true they are?”
Last night, I spoke to a group of ladies about the Ubuntu Explorer Journeys with the United Methodist Women and our trip last year to the Philippines. Afterward, I sat with few of the women and one of them asked, “weren’t you ever afraid?” I replied, “sure, there were times of uncertainty. Oddly enough, I was most afraid that they would leave me.” She asked, “What would you have done? Seriously, what would you have done?” I said, “They were never going to leave me. We were never alone.” In that moment, when I spoke those words, I believed that I truly understood the truth: God never leaves us and we are never alone. Sometimes doubt, fear and racing thoughts invade our psyche to the point of breaking. And then, like a candle in the darkness, light fills the space and hope begins to grow.
To my uncle, thank you for the memory of a song of hope.
~Janet
Raised By A Village 
Great post! I love your realization that He never leaves us alone. That realization hit me this past year, as well. Pretty powerful. – Marty
LikeLike