Singing the Beatles to My Dying Mom
You might have heard me tell this story before. Every Saturday night, my siblings and I would take a bath and then deliver our shoes to our dad to be polished, all in preparation for the Sunday morning service at the Toledo Gospel Tabernacle.
There was never a debate about whether we would be going. There was no need to fit church into the family schedule. I don’t ever remember rushing out the door or being late. We always sat in the very first row. Because the weekend schedule of the Tripp family was planned around the one thing that we would never think of missing: corporate worship.
For that, I will be forever grateful.
But there is something else that marked my upbringing. I was blessed to be raised in a singing family. My sister was a very talented pianist, and my mother had seemingly memorized the entire hymnal. My mom would say to my sister, “Play 402” or “Play 259” and they both knew the hymns by number, so we sang all the time.
When my mom was on her deathbed, she was in and out of a coma for about a week. My three siblings and I were in the hospital, gathered around her, and we knew the way to usher her into glory was to sing hymns to her—the hymns that we had all sung and memorized as kids.
Although she was unable to communicate with us, I would look down and, in silence, she was mouthing the words of hymns. That’s how deeply embedded they were in her soul.
Over the course of that final week of her life in the hospital, we had sung so many hymns that I leaned down and jokingly whispered in her ear, “Mom, we’re out of hymns … we’re going to sing you the Beatles!”
But I literally got to watch my mom sing her way into the presence of Jesus. I’m so thankful for that legacy and for the emphasis that my family put on singing the classic hymns of the faith.
I would encourage you and your family to sing hymns more often, too. Every day, in fact, if possible! Don’t just wait until Sunday for corporate worship to sing songs of the faith. “The righteous shall live by faith” … and you need to eat more than just one nutrient-rich meal a week to survive!
Sing in the bathroom as you prepare for the day and as you end the night before bed. Sing in the car on the way to school or on the way to sports practice. Sing in the kitchen as you are making meals.
Sing to yourself, and sing with your spouse. If you have children, sing to your children or sing with them. And don’t be embarrassed if you can’t hold a tune.
Think about what you’re doing when you sing the doctrines of the Christian faith and the gospel of Jesus Christ into the ears, hearts, mind, and soul of your kids: you’re protecting them from falsehood.
What could be more important in your life than being one of God’s primary tools to shape a human soul? And singing is one of the tools God uses.
If you’re struggling to know where to begin with hymn singing, I’m excited to point you to a free 5-day devotional series I created with The Worship Initiative. You can sign up for a free account on their Sing platform with just your cell phone number. That will give you free access to listen to me teach on, and Robbie Seay sing, five of my all-time favorite hymns.
You can sign up for a free account on their Sing platform with just your cell phone number. That will give you free access to a 5-part devotional series where I teach on, and Robbie Seay sings, five of my all-time favorite hymns.
“Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!” (Psalm 96:2–7)
A Prayer for Today: Lord, thank you for the gift of music and singing. Would you make me into a person who sings your praises not only in corporate worship, but in all of life’s little activities. God, I know that music has the power to form and shape not only my life, but the lives of others in my family and those around me, so may the worshipful music I sing bring glory to your name in my life and deep spiritual formation to my soul. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Discussion Prompt for Children
1. What is your favorite worship song to sing when we are in church on Sundays? What makes that song your favorite?
2. Do you think we should sing more worship songs together as a family on the other days of the week? When and where do you think we should sing worship songs?
3. Why is music so important to use in order to worship God? Do you think he loves it when we sing, even if we don’t have the greatest singing talent? Why or why not?
Reflection Questions
1. Why do you think it’s so easy to leave the singing of hymns to Sundays and only Sundays? How does the singing of hymns nourish your soul? If we look for physical nourishment from food every day, multiple times a day, why do you think it’s such common practice to nourish our spiritual selves only once a week in the context of Sunday worship?
2. Take a moment and think through some of the normal, mundane parts of your everyday life (folding laundry, washing dishes, etc.). How can you be intentional to inject worshipping God into those times each day? What might be stopping you from singing in those moments of your day?
3. If you were to examine an average week in your life, what would you say is proactively forming and shaping your soul (think about entertainment, news, scrolling on your phone, etc.)? Is there anything in your life’s examination that could be substituted for singing worship to God? How might the practice of singing worship songs change your mind, heart, soul, language, and life? If you are married, how might it change your spouse’s life? If you have children, how might it change their lives?