Yea… so, about last week… Well, life got a little out of hand. My apologies for my absence.
I was thinking earlier about what this week’s topics should be, and decided to talk about my kids and music – one child in particular. As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, music of some fashion is usually playing in the house somewhere. The continual submersion of the kids in music has definitely had its effects. The kids (all 6 of them) love music…. I mean really!! I love the fact that I can heavily influence their taste in music. I know, enjoy it while I can. It won’t be long before they get to the stage of hating whatever it is that I like…
So, yes, the kids all love music and singing. It is pretty cool to hear one of them say “hey, dad, isn’t that Coldplay?” Or “that’s U2, I really like them!” or “hey can you play the ‘dead man lying on the carpet’ song (Jars of Clay)?” And in the car, I get “Dad, can you turn it up?” It is really great! We have some that sing really well – and some who can’t hold a tune for their life - that’s ok – “make a joyful noise,” right?!? We also have 5 of the 6 in piano lessons. Two of them show some promise. The others, well…….
One of the kids I want to spend a little more time on is Chandler. Chandler is one of the sweetest, most affectionate kids you would meet. He is almost 11 and mostly quiet, mostly. He generally goes with the flow, creating very little waves in the family pool. But the two things he does get excited about are the Chipmunks and music!! Chandler loves to sing and play the air guitar. He can rock out the air guitar – the singing part, not so much. However, he puts his whole heart into it and you cannot help but to join in.
Chandler has Down’s syndrome. The poor guy has had chronic ear infections most of his life and is on his third set of ear tubes. The ear infections have affected his hearing, which has affected his speech. Over the past couple years; he has made drastic improvements in his speech. Which is so great for him and us – he so often gets frustrated trying to tell us something we can’t understand. Context clues are priceless! These major setbacks are minor to him. He goes on with life as if all is as it should be. We could all learn from his sense of contentment.
Chandler seems particularly fond of worship music (and Jason Marz!!). How much he understands on a spiritual level, I am not quite sure about, but he does seem to have some spiritual connection. He loves to worship!! He stands there, consumed by the music and presence of God totally uninhibited. On many occasions, you could see him at church swaying or tapping his foot – to no particular beat, raising his hands with his face heavenward just singing his soul out. I don’t know what he sees or what he is saying, but I do believe he is worshiping the Creator and indeed making a joyful noise. Maybe he sees and hears something we can’t because our minds are too clouded by the corruption of this world. Maybe God is speaking to him in a language only he understands. One thing I am certain of is that Chandler is genuine in his love for singing to god and for not being concerned how he looks or sounds – another lesson we could learn from this innocent soul.
as always, music is truly a gift from God for our enjoyment and for his glory. Its amazing how God uses so many things to teach us. Chandler is one of those kids who could teach us much about forgiveness, contentment, gentleness, and love without condition. What do you learn from your children or other kids? Do you learn a better appreciation for music or worship? Do you influence their choice of music in a more positive way?
Until next week (promise I’ll be here)…
Aaron
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