Hey, did you know that next month is “Sing with Your Child Month?”
Well, I’m almost certain you were probably not aware of that curious fact, but it is – so next week when March arrives, put a song in your heart… and share it with your child or grandchild. Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and it is something my mother did with me all the time. People wonder why I know so many Lutheran hymns and even old songs from the 1940s – how about it? Well, it’s because my mother was always singing… doing housework, maybe driving in the car, she’d be singing. And I remember some of our best times of singing were around the fire when we’d pitch our tent on the beach for some summertime camping. We did not need a month to remind us to sing… we just did it as a family year-round.
And you know what? Now, many years later, it is one of the things that just comes naturally for me. So thank you, Mother. But as a quadriplegic, I’m especially grateful that I can sing. It’s one of the things that keeps my spirits bright when my paralysis seems a little overwhelming. And my quadriplegic friend Renee Bondi, who’s also in a wheelchair, she’s the same way. Like me, she always seems to have a song in her heart. In fact, she tells the most interesting story about that…
It seems that when her son, Daniel, was very young, he fell and seriously cut his lip. Blood was everywhere! Renee could see right away that they needed to take him to the emergency room. So her helper quick scooped Daniel up in her arms and the two of them raced off to the hospital with Renee. The doctor was able to see Daniel right away, and laid him down on the examination table. Renee’s helper had to hold Daniel down, and when the doctor started to stitch up Daniel’s lip, that little guy started screaming bloody murder. Renee, sitting in the corner of the emergency area, felt so helpless there in her wheelchair – she was the mother; she wanted to be the one holding Daniel, but all she could do was anxiously look on.
Her anxiety only worsened when it was clear that Daniel would not stop screaming and squirming. What could she do? Well, just then her helper called out, “Sing Renee, sing, maybe he’ll stop yelling if he hears you sing.” “Well, of course,” Renee thought, “I sing to my son, I do it all the time.” So right there in the emergency room, she sang one of his favorite lullabies… and the more she sang, the quieter Daniel became. And all that anxiety was for naught – that little boy just needed to know that his mommy was right there with him… and all it took was a song.
Last year we videoed Renee describing that very moment in the hospital emergency room and we captured her singing the very melody she sang to Daniel to quiet his fears. So today, just go to joniandfriendsradio.org and click on the video I’ve posted and hear Renee tell the story herself, plus hear her lovely song!
And speaking of songs, don’t forget that next week begins March, “Sing with Your Child Month.” So follow Renee’s lead… follow my mother’s lead: you don’t have to have a great voice to carry a melody for your child or grandchild. Think of that favorite hymn you used to love when you were little, and teach it to them. You’ll be helping to create a beautiful memory – even a musical tradition – that your children will pass on. And so I leave you with… “Goodbye and we’ll be praying for you, so goodbye and God bless you.” And that’s a song straight from my heart. And I’ll see you later on at joniandfriendsradio.org.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
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