Ann's Anecdotes

Dewey McKinney was a Wyoming County icon for church music.  He was a local barber by trade, but singing was his passion.  Not only did he direct the choir at Rockcastle, he was known throughout the State for singing schools, quartets, singing conventions, etc.  He sold used pianos on the side and pushed parents to get their kids lessons.   Once a kid knew how to play some hymns, he wanted them playing in church.  He could endure some bad playing; I know, firsthand.  He believed in trying again and again no matter how painful it was for everyone.

What I remember most about Dewey was his ability to apply a song to any life situation.  If somebody was not living like they were supposed to, he might sing, "My Lord Keeps a Record".  He had a southern gospel song for every occasion.  While some may have found this to be annoying, I loved it!  And after way too many years, I find myself doing the same thing; but my repertoire of songs sometimes strays into other genres.  For instance, while driving around on Sunday evening, I was contemplating the changes Covid 19 has wrought on our congregation.  Within seconds, I am singing "Memories" by Barbara Streisand.  What is so wonderful about this is that now we can go to Youtube and see the performance and I did after arriving home. So a sad moment turned into a great one!

This week, my song will be, "The Long and Winding Road".  After forty years in one job, I will be retiring.  We spend our entire career thinking about the day we can retire and now that the time has come, it doesn’t seem to be quite as glorious as it once did.  Perhaps it has something to do with time.   But, as we all know, time marches on, regardless of whether or not  we are prepared.

And so, as we come to this understanding, the most important song for each and every one of us is, "It is Well With My Soul".  For those who don't know Christ, making that decision is the single most pivotal thing you will ever do in your life.  But for those of us who do know Christ, we need to evaluate whether or not we are living with Him as the Lord of our lives.  Do we allow Him to work within us and to determine our path?  And then one day, we will all sing together, "When We All Get to Heaven", what day of rejoicing that will be!  Because we all know, "Friends are Friends Forever" if the Lord's the Lord of them.