Sing it from the Rooftops

I'm going to go ahead and use the excuse that life is busy here to explain the cesura that took place in my blogging the past few weeks...

God spots every day I get here with precious gifts, but yesterday afternoon I received one too rich to keep from sharing the wealth. It was enough to remind me of my blogging commitment and revive my desire to follow through!

I have the privilege of teaching music at the girls' home once a week, and this week our class happened to fall on the same day that the sun came out (an infrequent occasion in our part of town). So we dusted off the chairs from the backyard and carried them up to the little patio on the roof. We danced around in circles for all the neighborhood to see, clapping and marching, the girls bursting into laughter at my attempts to "feel the latin rhythm". Once we finally all felt said rhythm, we collapsed into our chairs smiling, pretty content with our dancing and newly acquired musical skill.

A little later I took out copies of the words for a song called "Perdonados" (which means forgiven) and one of the girls read the words aloud for us. The chorus goes like this:

"Perdonados de todo mal, justificados, nos diste de tu paz; perdonados, no hay mas condenacion; Jesucristo nos diste salvacion" ... and in ingles "Forgiven of all wrongs, justified, you gave us your peace; forgiven, there is no more condemnation; Jesus Christ, you gave us salvation"

I asked them what they thought, and then just tried to flesh out what all those big words mean, giving them examples of sin and pardon, like my frustration with the tempermental computers in the office and how Jesus pardons all my ugly and impatient thoughts. And it is just crazy to really feel like you are the first person telling and explaining to someone the really really good news that Jesus offers them eternal life and love without condition. A's face lit up and her eyes were fixed on me as though aware that the words offered to her were words of light and life.

Here comes the most linda parte: We started singing Blessed Be Your Name and I heard such a beautiful sound-- the sound of the girls singing from the rooftops about Jesus and His love as if their hearts were given voice! I could have played that guitar for hours more just to hear the freshness of zeal behind that melody. When we finished class and I walked back down the street to our apartment, I went away humming and smiling. Our God is Good, and we got to sing and shout it from the rooftops.