Today I had a rather amazing experience … but first a little background.
You probably know that my 95 yr old dad passed away on Dec 22 in Canada. I was able to be with him before he died, came home to celebrate Christmas and then went back for his funeral. The journey of loss and grieving is a rough road only made easier by the thought that he is with my mother in his heavenly home. However my new reality here is that I am now an “orphan”. That’s why what happened today was all the more precious to me.
This was my first public outing for Kindermusik since my dad died and it was to Twin Oaks Nursing Home so I could check in to be sure everything was ready for us for tomorrow, when we’ll be doing our first “Kindermusik with Seniors PlayDate”. A friend of mine had set up the initial contact for me there since her father-in-law recently became a resident. I was pretty sure this was going to be a tough time and would make me think of my dad, since he was in an assisted living residence for the last 4 years and that’s where I would go to visit him.
I had a little cry in the parking lot and then I went in. And who do you think was sitting in the first chair by the front door … the father-in-law of my Palmyra friend, who had initially suggested I consider doing something at the nursing home! How special!
So I said hello to him and we chatted for a bit. There was another lady in a wheelchair sitting there also. The sun was streaming in the window on both of them and as they sat there I told them about the song that my dad would sing to me when I would call and it would be sunny in his room that day. Then right there in the lobby I started to sing it (There Is Sunshine In My Soul Today … see all the words below) and it was just such a fitting celebration to be there with Seniors, honoring my dad, and making music, singing the song he had sung to me … quite the experience!!!
So tomorrow Miss Janice and I will go back again to hold our first Seniors PlayDate. Thankfully she was there with me today to walk through yet another first and also knows what it is like to be an orphan as both her parents have also passed away.
They say it’s the little things in life that make the difference. And sometimes for me it’s the “little things” that are truly the most important things.
Here is the song my dad would sing to me …
There is sunshine in my soul today,
More glorious and bright
Than glows in any earthly sky,
For Jesus is my light.
O there’s sunshine, blessed sunshine,
While the peaceful, happy moments roll;
When Jesus shows His smiling face
There is sunshine in my soul.
There is music in my soul today,
A carol to my King;
And Jesus, listening, can hear
The song I cannot sing.
There is springtime in my soul today,
For when the Lord is near
The dove of peace sings in my heart,
The flowers of grace appear.
There is gladness in my soul today,
And hope, and praise, and love,
For blessings which He gives me now,
For joys laid up above.