Although I've sung it a thousand and one times to my own children and countless times to children of other people, my own mother never sang it to me. And her mother never sang it to her.
Here is a song my mother did sing to me:
Brenda, Brenda, she's no good.
Chop her up for kindling wood.
When she's dead,
Put her in bed.
Then we'll have some gingerbread.
I never had gingerbread, so I wasn't sure if one would eat it as part of a celebration or in mourning, but the song has a happy tune and my mom always seemed cheerful when she sang it.
So I also sang this to my children. When they were fresh out of the bathtub and smelling wonderful and I was so in love with them I just couldn't find words to express it. While this seemed like the perfect song to me, the STP was not happy about it. (They also did not sing at the table when the STP was a child. This explains some of his issues.) I tried to explain to him that it was a song of endearment, but he was not buying it. So I stopped singing it (when he was around), but I'm pretty sure my kids have pleasant memories of me whispering it their ear when I tucked them into bed. Because I wanted them to know that I loved them.
I'm thinking that even through my teenage years, when I was pretty hateful to my mom, that I never doubted that she loved me. Positive she would NEVER understand me. I was certain she had no fashion sense. I knew she loved my brother more than me. But I knew she loved me. And it wasn't because she spent a lot of time telling me. I just knew it because of what she did. Because she didn't give up. She didn't let up.
I've been reading through my Bible for lent. Front to back. (I am just starting II Kings.) And I am amazed at some of the things God says and does. To prove His love. And I am amazed at the things He continues to do for me. To show me how much He loves me. And I'm glad it's not just the words of the Bible that I have to go on. And I'm glad that He doesn't give up on me. And that He goes to great lengths to let me know how much He loves me.
And so when the Bible says that God is singing over me,
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17
maybe he is singing the gingerbread song today. I like the sound of that. Yeah, let's call it the gingerbread song instead of the kindling wood song...
3 comments:
in my memory thie gingerbread song iskind of tuneless, more like a jumprope jingle Maybe the tune leaked out of me over the years. I will call so you can refresh my memory.
i might call it more of a rhythm than a tune... but it is most definately cheerful
Another good one that is equally as morbid is 'There was an old lady who swallowed a horse- she's dead of course'... Jimmy does not approve of either of these songs... I find them reassuring as they remind me of childhood :)
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