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Then Sings My Soul!

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My family has an anthem.

And, I never realized it until Billy Graham passed away.

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
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!
My grandparents, Harold and Emily Chamberlain moved to South Florida in 1955 after Grandpa suffered a massive heart attack at the wheel of an Esso tanker! The mercy of God spared his life and the dictates of his doctor retired him from Esso! They left New Jersey and moved to Lake Worth. They rented the sweetest bungalow while their home was being built in Englewood Manor. I vividly remember my father and I boarding an airplane in 1956-7 and flying into Palm Beach International Airport. Grandma and Grandpa picked us up and took us back to their bungalow across from the band shell on the edge of the Intracoastal Waterway and just south of the Lake Worth bridge.
I loved it there. As a 7-year old tomboy’ish girl, I loved the palm trees, the wide open spaces, fishing from the seawall, eating breakfast outside on the stone patio, and the fresh-squeezed orange juice. Sheer heaven on earth!
My paternal grandparents were strong believers – real-life Jesus followers. They lived their faith every single day. O! the stories I have.
Grandma and Grandpa moved into their CBS structure house at 3113 French Avenue. Soon after they moved in, my mom and dad decided to move to Florida also. We bought a house right around the corner from them at 3132 Buckley Avenue! In the late 1950’s no one had air-conditioning so it was open windows and whirring fans all day long.
Then, Grandma bought an organ. I can close my eyes and see its placement in their living room. Grandma would play and Grandpa would sing. His rich baritone would mingle with the South Florida breeze and waft right over into our windows!
♫ Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee – HOW GREAT THOU ART – HOW GREAT THOU ART ♫
  ♫ But until then my heart will go on singing. Until then with joy I’ll carry on. Until the day my eyes behold that city,
Until the day God calls me home ♫
♫ It is well, With my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul ♫
These are the songs of my youth. I hear their rich voices and melodic organ music.
How very blessed I have been. Now I can pass this on to my adult children and my (almost) adult grandchildren! I want each one of them to know without a shadow of doubt they have a legacy of Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course each one must choose for themselves but it is a comfort knowing the prayers of my grandparents and my mom are now laid at the feet of Jesus and they can rightly choose to live their legacy of Truth.
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in Truth. 3 John v.4

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Comments

  1. Susan, what a beautiful tribute and legacy. And now you will be building upon it and passing it on to these next generations! Precious to read this morning. May God bless and keep them all in His paths for all their days! xo

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  2. It seems like I was relating to every word. We’ve celebrated more than one Easter service at that bandshell in Lake Worth overlooking the Intracoastal – beautiful! And I don’t think I’ve ever heard a poor version of How Great Thou Art. It is a soul-stirring song. What a beautiful tribute Susan. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Dear Susan, what beautiful and tender memories! Grandaddy’s south Georgia home also rang with music. For us, it was also the whirring of fans, but Grandma was playing the piano, and oh, she could lift the rafters as her long nails clicked on the keys while bracelets jangled on her arms. Our anthem? “Victory in Jesus”! Thanks and blessings on this sweet memory!

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  6. How blessed you are to have grown up with such a rich Christian heritage. I am grateful that now that I’ve come to the Lord I can leave the same for my children and theirs.

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  7. I see Grandpa: eyes closed, singing, head uplifted to heaven and up on his toes belting out the hymns.

    It is honestly from them, Mother that the song at my memorial some day will be “It is well with my soul” and that is because it is well with my soul. No doubts, maybe a bit of fear but with expectation…

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  10. Oh I am so glad you shared your beautiful legacy with us here today. Those seeds of faith sown into your life through that Anthem are bearing such precious fruit now. I love these solid hymns! “But Until Then,” is ringing in my heart more & more these days. May He keep our hearts singing!

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  12. Love the beautiful painting of your legacy. I feel the same about mine and it even contains some of the same songs. What a wonderful Savior!

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  14. Sometimes we forget the blessing we have in a legacy of faith. My legacy goes back endlessly and I am so proud of that. I believe those prayers of our grandparents continue on and are being answered even after the prayer warrior is long gone!

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  16. Susan, I just LOVE this! I’m a new grandma and I hope to be able to influence and leave a legacy for my grand kids like your grandparents did. I don’t play an organ and my husband doesn’t exactly sing, but I’m sure there’s something we can do to leave our mark! Thanks so much for sharing this enchanting post. Your neighbor over at Coffee for your heart.

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    • Tiffiney, I am sure you will come up with something. Our grands are now 21 and 15 – one of them is on her way to Israel right now with Liberty University. The other plays on the praise and worship team at church. Have we influenced their legacy? Oh yes, just by being reg’ler!!! God bless you friend.

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  17. Enjoyed this post….the band shelter held memories along with the fishing, your grandparents also. My father’s mother was Baptist, sang in the choir, my uncle also. My Grandpa was brought up Catholic and so it was, they both loved the Lord, lived good lives of which my own parents tried to instill in me along the way. We all have stories to tell and hope one day our own children and grandchildren will follow the Lord. My husband and I will go to the movies tomorrow to see, “I Can Only Imagine.” I hear it is a good Christian movie and look forward to it. Thanks again for the local memories….

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    • Merry, you and all your family hold a big place in my memory book. I remember your dad’s garage like I was there yesterday! We are blessed women.

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  18. I love those powerful hymns! “How Great Thou Art” is definitely one of my favorites. What a beautiful childhood you had, and what precious memories of your grandparents! Thanks for sharing!

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