A DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT by Lois Coady
“Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I’m half-crazy over my love for you.
It won’t be a stylish marriage; I can’t afford a carriage.
But you’ll look sweet, upon the seat, of a bicycle built for two.”
There was a time, not too long ago it seems, when cars did not have air conditioning or FM radios. No CD and DVD players or satellite systems like SiriusXM that allow you to stream live sports and entertainment as you travel. Instead, families found other ways to entertain themselves, like singing together, as they drove down the road!
In my dad’s blue and white 1957 Willys Jeep, our “air conditioning” was the windows rolled completely down so the wind blew throughout the car. Notice I said “rolled down.” It was the manual process of moving a knob round and round until the window was down, no electric windows in this model! The Willys could only do about 60 MPH on the open road and we kept somewhat cool, well more wind-blown than cool.
The Willys did have an AM radio which definitely was not the stereo sound we have become use to. Dad didn’t mind listening to country and western music or the talk shows, but mom and the four of us kids found that pretty boring. So, with three squirming kids in the back seat and my baby sister on mom’s lap up front, she would improvise by leading us in song as we drove from San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County to visit family. The five of us sang robustly, “Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy, a kid will eat ivy too, wouldn’t you?”
I am sure we were quite a sight. Windows down, singing at the top of our lungs. Wind-blown but smiling and waving at other people who drove by. We were content to be together and enjoyed making “a joyful noise” even though I am sure dad was quietly wishing for a reprieve.
I understand why we are instructed to make a joyful noise to God. Even as I recount these road trips in my mind, a smile begins to form on my face. I suspect that God smiles, too, every time we sing praises to Him. Whether the sounds we utter are beautiful or not to our ears, to God’s ears they are heavenly.
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
Come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
And his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100
We have so much to be grateful for, don’t you agree? So, whenever you are feeling lack luster, try reading or better yet singing one of the Psalms to God. There are wonderful poems and songs of worship in the Psalms that will lift your spirits and better yet, put a smile on God’s face. Go ahead roll down that window, enjoy the fresh air and sing praises to our God and King! What a great way to lighten a day.
