Written On My Heart

By Marilyn Travis

Today I am delving into my past. I wrote the following passage as a four-minute writing exercise during a workshop in April 2012:

My mother is a gifted musician. Not many people know that. It’s almost like my secret because virtually no one in my current daily life was around to experience it then. Mom is old now and just a physical shadow of herself.

When I was in elementary school every day I’d walk in the door after school, and the house would be filled with music – clarinet, piano, organ – I’d try to sneak in so the music wouldn’t stop, because, of course, Mom would quit playing to greet me; then we’d share a snack; then we’d get busy; and the music would be hidden until the next afternoon.

Mom’s fingers are bent now, and though her brain still knows the notes, her fingers don’t respond. She doesn’t despair, though. She says God put the music in her head and in her heart, and that is where she keeps it. I still remember. It’s in my head and heart too.

Music was just a part of my day when I was a child. Though I am not a talented musician like my mother, she insisted I learn how to read music, and I am grateful. Band, handbells, and choirs have always been part of my life, a legacy I inherited from her.

As God put music in Mom’s head and in her heart, He will help us do the same with scripture if we let him. Psalm 119:11, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

I can’t think of Mom without associating the thought to music. She was a musician, but she also loved the Lord. She often expressed her faith through music. Music was not the only thing bound to her heart and mind; scripture was as well. Jeremiah 31:33, “…I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

I pray that God’s word will be such an integral part of my life that His love just flows from me like the music and faith He gave my mother.

Pray Psalm 139:23-24 with me:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” Amen

I hope you enjoy this beautiful rendition of “Search Me O God” sung by The Cathedrals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kuo3lg-LBU