Whisper Hymn [Story board]
Whisper Hymn is track #1 on my EP, Meadow. Measuring only 44 seconds, it serves as a brief preface for the whole collection of songs. It was the first melody-meets-train-of-thought that steered the heart of this record. I remember that phrase from the first line that says “in a world dressed in sorrow, show me the delight of being human” rolling around my heart and mind one day last summer as I walked the streets of downtown Franklin, here in Tennessee, holding my daughter’s hand. There’s something about being outside, having a sweet treat (I think it was boba tea that day!) and being with my little girl that puts my spirit in a simple, grateful space. There was a spark of joy in the smallness and simplicity of life, as the first stirrings of Whisper Hymn started to grow. I fumbled through melody after melody and all sorts of sonnets to complete the idea over the next several weeks, but eventually scaled it back to that original melody and phrasing from that first day.
I had been in a season of asking God what was next - holding the tension of unanswered questions and waiting with joy and gratitude, and the trust that God himself was directing all of my steps. That day, all of my questions were not answered - a blueprint for my life was not spelled out in the clouds…but I knew God was with me, and he was pumping joy through my spirit. No external circumstance can dictate that kind of joy - only God. This is the delight of being human - being cared for by God - and knowing his delight in me. This enables me to delight in my smallness, in my unknowing, in my lack of control. The richness and goodness of knowing Jesus is in exactly that…knowing him. And to know him is to understand that there are no riches outside of walking with him…yet at the same time, knowing him colors your whole life with that richness. In the compiled experiences and stories of life that are marked with sorrow, death, loss…I believe that there lies fertile ground for true, deep delight to grow.
Delight is not something for “happy” people. It’s for broken people. Fragile hearts have a home, and it is in the delight the Father has in them. This is the delight of being human. It all felt like a whisper, like a secret for the soul…and there was something that felt old about it. Calling it Whisper Hymn just felt right. Lucas Morton played those beautiful chords on piano under the melody like the magician he is and we let it stay simple and small, true to it’s original form. I can’t imagine the record starting out any other way than this stream of consciousness set to melody. Fast forward a few months to releasing the EP, and I see that Whisper Hymn has a much bigger story than just my own heart prayer to God - we are globally walking through a world dressed in sorrow, grief, brokenness…I am holding onto the hope that God himself clothes us with garments of salvation. He is here with us, and he is trustworthy.
“I delight greatly in the LORD ; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.” Isaiah 61:10-11
“How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights. For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.” -Psalm 36:7-9
“His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” Psalm 147:10-11
