CAROLYN O. BERGEN Singing over After months of impatient waiting and frequent inquiries about when it would come, our son Carter’s fourth birthday had at last arrived. He woke up in the morning with an incredible energy – this was his special day! At breakfast, his older brother Adam and I sang “Happy Birthday” to him while he shyly looked into his cereal bowl and grinned. Then it was off to preschool, where his teachers led his fellow students in a rousing and off-tune rendition of “Happy Birthday” as he blew out the candle on his birthday cupcake. When he came home, the phone rang. He ran to answer it, and continued the conversation with delight as he realized his dad had called from work to wish him a “Happy Birthday”. Towards the end of the conversation, he became silent, listening, with a smile growing his face. “What was Daddy saying on the phone?” I asked. “He was singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me,” he said. Adam and I gave an encore of this tune at lunch, much to his delight. After a pizza supper and games at his favourite restaurant with our family and his grandparents, we returned to our house for cake. As I marched into the living room with a cake, the reflection of the candles shone brightly in his eyes. He beamed as his gaze switched from the cake to his family and we sang the familiar birthday song to him, this time all together. We cut the cake, put it on plates and got the coffee and juice poured. Everyone except Grandma had gotten their dessert and sat down. Carter eagerly put his fork into his cake to begin eating. “Carter,” I gently prodded, “we can’t start just yet. Do you know why?” Anticipating that he would remember that we could not begin until everybody was ready, I was startled to hear him say, “So you can all sing to me again?” After the chuckles had subsided, I asked him, “Would you like us to sing to you again?” “Yes!” “Then we would like to do that.” As I reflect on that day, I recall the pleasure my son had in being sung over by his family and friends. I loved singing that familiar tune to him over and over, because it was a way to show him I loved him. It reminded me of how I sang to him before he was born, and then of the hours I had spent rocking him and singing lullabies over him. The Bible says that God, “Celebrates and sings because of you, and He will refresh your life with His love” (Zephania 3:17). This Bible verse has new meaning for me since I have become a parent. I understand the delight a parent has in singing over a child, and I recognize God does not sing over us out of duty, but out of joy, because of who we are and because of who He is. Carter does not know the thrill he gave me when he responded to my singing with pleasure. My hunch is that we are not able to appreciate the joy we give to God when we listen to His song of love for us. Carolyn O. Bergen lives in Winnipeg, Man.

| Previous | Next