Then Sings My Soul Saturday

He Keeps Me Singing

This is one of the first songs that I can remember from my childhood. It runs a close second to Victory in Jesus, but it's a close race. I can still hear my grandfather's voice echoing back through the years, singing this song in the front room of their old house while I lounged on the couch watching their quartet practice.

I could sing all the words to this song long before I could read, and remember feeling a sense of satisfaction at being able to sing them as my father lead music on Sunday morning. I was only 3 or 4, but even then music was a big part of my world and how I related to it. I was surrounded by music all the time, interwoven into the tapestry of my life. It's ever changing, iridescent threads weaving in and out of my experiences and shaping my thoughts about God and my relationships with others.

When I had children of my own, it was important to me that they hear and learn the songs that first became to dear to me when I was a child. I can remember rocking Nathan at 2 am, with a bottle in one hand and the hymnal in the other singing through it, one song at a time. When Gracie came along, I continued the tradition and she really had an ear for music. For the longest time, her favorite song was I'll Fly Away, and she would sing it all the time. Then one day, she asked me to sing "Welcome Me". I couldn't figure out what she meant for a minute, and then I realized that she meant "He Keeps Me Singing". The last verse begins with, "Soon He's coming back to welcome me..."

So we sang it, and the hymn officially became known as "Welcome Me". When Gramps passed away 2 years ago, the congregation sang it, since it was one of his favorite songs. Hearing Grace sing it today in that sweet little voice just adds to the rich tapestry of musical history in my life. It fills my heart with joy for all the things with which God has blessed me. It reminds me that no matter what happens in this life, my heart is filled with a beautiful melody of praise for Him and the knowledge that He is always with me in spirit and will one day come back for me in the flesh.

There’s within my heart a melody

Jesus whispers sweet and low,

Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,

In all of life’s ebb and flow.

Refrain:

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

Sweetest Name I know,

Fills my every longing,

Keeps me singing as I go.

All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,

Discord filled my heart with pain,

Jesus swept across the broken strings,

Stirred the slumb’ring chords again.

Feasting on the riches of His grace,

Resting ’neath His shelt’ring wing,

Always looking on His smiling face,

That is why I shout and sing.

Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,

Trials fall across the way,

Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep,

See His footprints all the way.

Soon He’s coming back to welcome me,

Far beyond the starry sky;

I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown,

I shall reign with Him on high.