Grain Valley News
  • Home
  • About
    • Submit Your News
    • Contact
  • News
    • Voter Resources
    • Online Puzzles
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • Kindness Awards
    • Parade
  • Job Board
  • Best of Grain Valley
  • Support
    • Advertise
    • Become A Sustaining Member
  • Business Directory Submission Form
  • Home
  • About
    • Submit Your News
    • Contact
  • News
    • Voter Resources
    • Online Puzzles
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • Kindness Awards
    • Parade
  • Job Board
  • Best of Grain Valley
  • Support
    • Advertise
    • Become A Sustaining Member
  • Business Directory Submission Form








​news

Wayne's World:  Listen To The Music

11/28/2019

 
Picture
by Wayne Geiger
​     There’s a hypnotic melody that has been reverberating through my head for about four decades now. Every now and then I hear the tune in my head. The tune often brings up images of a delightful childhood.
     Growing up in Florida, and living just several hours from Walt Disney World, I have vivid memories of visiting “the happiest place on earth.” One of my most vivid memories was watching the Electrical Parade on Main Street at Disney which is a nighttime parade featuring floats, performers, and thousands of lights all synchronized to music.
     I remember me, my little sister, and my mom and dad standing on Main Street watching the performance and being overwhelmed with the glimmering lights and intoxicating music. As a child, it was one of the most amazing things that I had ever seen—or heard. The music had a rhythmic theme that somehow sank deep into my soul and left a permanent mark. It never left.
     When we left Disney, somehow, the song stayed with me. As a young child, I would often remember the song and hum it cheerfully. As the decades rolled on and the visual images began to dissipate, that song stuck in my head. A memory of one of the highlights of my childhood.
     One of the challenging things about memories is that, as time passes, they are not always as clear and perhaps not always accurate. That was my fear. I didn’t know if the song in my head was accurate or just a recreated or readjusted version of the original. I wondered if I had forgotten the tune. The problem with memory is that it tends to fade and be replaced with an alternate form of reality. If we’re not careful, we may forget the song, or worse, why we sing.
     Like yours, my early memories of Thanksgiving include tracing my hand on a paper plate with a crayon, creating turkeys out of construction paper, and learning strange tales about the Pilgrims who celebrated a great feast after their first harvest in the New World. Thanksgiving was also a great chance for family to get together and celebrate.  
     There was always great food and plenty of it. I always wondered why we didn’t eat the green bean casserole with french fried onions more often.
     Not much has changed over the years. Although the names and locations have changed, our family, like yours, gets together to celebrate. It’s a great time to remember how good we have it. On Thanksgiving, I generally overeat and am overcome by tryptophan and end up passing out on the couch.
     However, I generally wake up later that evening, stumble into the kitchen and help myself to another piece of my wife’s notorious chocolate pecan pie with whip cream. I then stagger into the living room and slump into my favorite chair with a cup of coffee.  
     Life is good. Life is good because God is good.
There is a danger in forgetting the melody of thanksgiving. It’s a melody of praise and thanksgiving directed back to God for His kindness and generosity. After all, as the Bible says, it is God who “richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” (1 Tim 6:17). As the Great Maestro, He wrote the tune. The song is not just for our enjoyment, but is also for His adoration.
     God wants us to remember where we came from, how we got here, and where we go from here. The danger with abundance is somehow thinking that we are responsible for it or that somehow, we obtained it with our own power. In Deuteronomy 8, God reminds His people, “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth” (Deut 8:17-18).
     Many of us, as parents, have gotten into a verbal challenge with one of our teens who said, “Hey, it’s my room!”  We, as adults, logically and lovingly remind them, “It may be your room—but your room happens to be in my house!” (Insert mic drop here).
     The same is true with our lives. We live and operate in God’s house. He gives us strength to work and good health. We are to be a thankful people. He also blesses us so that we may bless others. My wife and I love to give because we know what it’s like to receive.
     The year 1993 was a tough year for me and my family. I was a seminary student and we lived in New Orleans. I was a full-time student and worked a full-time job. Things were extremely busy, and our budget was tight. My wife was pregnant with our fourth child and, on doctor’s orders, was put on bed rest because of a troubled pregnancy. We knew it was going to be a tough Christmas and the presents would be few. We were okay with that.
     About a week before Christmas, there was a knock on our door. Smiling strangers anxiously stood outside clutching overflowing boxes of food and wrapped presents. At first, we believed they were at the wrong house. They were not. Somehow, a church in the area had adopted us and they simply wanted to bless us at Christmas. And they did.  There was laughter, tears, and there was music. They knew the tune.
     On Christmas morning, the kids were overwhelmed with the wonderful treats. We told them God had provided. My wife and I were overwhelmed by God’s love and the generosity of His people. That’s the power of a song.
     Not too long ago, I couldn’t take it. The song from the Electrical Parade was driving me crazy and I had to know if it was real or a fabricated memory. I’ve heard that you can find anything on Google, but I had my doubts about a memory that was more than four decades old.
     Apparently, you really can find anything on Google. After a few clicks, I found a video of Disney’s Electrical Parade close to the era that I remembered. As the lights flashed and the music played, tears welled up in my eyes and I was instantly transported to Main Street at Disney. It was the same melody that I remembered. As I write this, the song is playing in my head and I am smiling.
     There is also another song that is playing. It is the song of thanksgiving and adoration to the compassionate and loving creator of the universe who created the heavenly host, majestic mountains, and pecan pie with whipped cream. I am extremely thankful for His blessings. Most of all, I am thankful for the gift of His one and only Son, Jesus. May His wonderful melody reverberate in our minds and in our hearts all year long. If you don’t know the tune, open your heart and listen closely, you’ll hear the music.
     Wayne Geiger is the Pastor of First Baptist Grain Valley, an Adjunct Associate Professor of Speech, and freelance writer.
 

Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Burton Kelso
    Business
    Cathy Allie
    Celebrations & Transitions
    Census
    City Of Grain Valley
    Columnists
    Community Profile
    Covid19
    Covid-19
    Economic-development
    Education
    Elections
    Financial-health
    Fitness
    Food Inspections
    Good News
    Good-news
    Grain-valley-assistance-council
    Grain Valley Fair
    Grain Valley Historical Society
    Grain-valley-partnership
    Grain Valley Schools
    Health And Fitness
    Health-and-fitness
    Home And Garden
    Jackson County
    Kindness Awards
    Ld
    Letters
    Local News
    Looking Back
    Lorne-meinershagen
    Missouri House Of Representatives
    Missouri Senate
    Musings From The Middle
    Neighborhood View
    On-the-job
    Pets
    Police Blotter
    Quick-news
    Rdn
    Recreation
    Sally-whitaker
    Seniors
    Senior-send-off
    Sports
    State Of Missouri
    Technology
    Tracey-shaffer
    Transportation
    University Of Missouri Extension
    Waynes-world

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018

Grain Valley News

Grain Valley News is a free community news source published weekly online. 
(c) 2023 Grain Valley News

Contact Us

PO Box 2972
​Grain Valley MO 64029

Privacy Policy
Picture