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God, Childhood, and His Plan

I can’t remember when church wasn’t a consistent and constant part of my life, and it is a real challenge to come up with many memories that don’t, in some form or another, include gospel music.
Growing up on a cotton farm meant a lot of hard work.  We didn’t hire help because my family did it all.  You can imagine how excited I was as a kid to plan for the weekends when I knew gospel singing would be a huge part of Saturday and Sunday.  Twice a year, those convention songbooks came in from the Stamps-Baxter Music Company.  I remember Daddy and Mama talking about how great it was that a few of the men paid for those books and carried them to every Friday night singing, Saturday night singing, Sunday afternoon singing, Sunday night singing – and I’ll not overlook all-day Sunday singings.  Daddy, Mama, and others in the community offered to pay for books but Mr. Willie, Mr. Claron, Mr. Tommy, and others who paid for them wouldn’t take a dime.  It was just what they did…they made sure others could enjoy the new songs, learn to sight read them, and get all the parts right.  For the daughter of a cotton farmer who “lived” for the weekends of gospel singing, they were real heroes!
I drove my school piano teacher half-crazy because I learned to play the piano by ear, and I was always thrilled when called on to play for a song or two as the song leaders were called up.  These were the places where a love for music took root in my life.  Admittedly, I took a lot of it for granted for many years, but I will NEVER again minimize those early opportunities.

So, I wonder, what early memories come to your mind today as you read this… those opportunities that you know God dropped right in your early path? 

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