Lifted Up!

Did you see that movie "Up?" It was animated film, with Ed Asner voicing the grumpy old man. It was a cute movie, but honestly, what I remember most is the scene where tons of colorful balloon are attached to the grumpy old man's home and is lifted up and away. It was a "feel good" movie and the opportunity to suspend my disbelief at the scientific impossibility of balloons transporting a whole house was fun and fantastical -- "funtastical."

There are times when I feel that high and lifted up. Seeing my family, having a stress-free day, enjoying breath taking scenes, being creatively fed and hearing certain songs can all cause that lifted experience.

There are several hymns that have the power to elevate my being. I'm particularly fond of "Victory in Jesus" and "He Lives." Those are two great camp meeting and Easter Sunday choices. "Amazing Grace" is another old stand-by that is near and dear to many and chosen often at funerals. I've heard bag pipers play it in a way that touches me at my very foundation and leaves me shaking. But my favorite is "It Is Well With My Soul."

It takes me back to my three years as a ministry student at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. Chapel times were not to be missed as the singing was amazing, the preaching powerful, and the presence of God was palpable. Imagine singing "It is well with my soul" with a large group of people, the majority men, singing our hearts out, feeling and living the words, at a volume where you did not hear your own voice separate, but one with the others. 

Now, I just see the words and I am once again reminded of that presence of God, I am lifted up and I am a part of something big and amazing.