I realize it has been awhile since I last blogged, but life has been busy, and we've all (except Meredith who has the strongest immune system since she used to drink out of the dog's water bowl) been sick with autumn colds.
But I just had to blog about this little discovery we made.
My husband has been motivating the rest of his family to delve into family history before the elderly members go to their eternal rest. Already we have lost so much family information, so we wanted to record it as soon as possible. One of Robin’s brothers offered to go around the elderly aunts and uncles, and use his video camera to get the family stories and family history.
Well, the dvd arrived in the mail and we sat down to watch some of it. One of my husband’s elderly aunts, Aunty Joyce talked about her father, who died before many of his grandchildren knew him well. In her interesting little excerpts, she happened to mention that our family (a very old family which hails from England) have a family hymn.
I pricked my ears up. What tasty little snippet of information was this? What story lies behind it? But she did not elaborate on how we came to have a family hymn, (maybe she didn’t even know), but I like the way it sounds and feels to know you have a family hymn. It feels like a family heirloom being passed down, a treasure that can be shared by all members. The hymn, she said, is called, The Stranger of Galilee, written by Leila N Morris in 1893. I had never heard of it before, so I looked it up on youtube, and it is beautiful.
I love the words in the refrain:
And I felt I could love Him forever,
So gracious and tender was He!
I claimed Him that day as my Savior,
This Stranger of Galilee.
And I particularly like this part of the hymn at this present moment of our lives:
A peaceful, a quiet, and holy calm,
Now and ever abides with me;
He holdeth my life in His mighty hands,
This Stranger of Galilee.
I really love having a family hymn.
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4 comments :
I love that hymn, I've sung it many times growing up. So lovely to hear it again!!
Hi from Sydney. My husband has a family hymn too which is sung at family funerals and weddings. He is related to the Welshman, William Williams who wrote "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" in 1745.
Our bible study group had a party while watching Prince William's and Kate's wedding broadcast on TV complete with champagne, cucumber sandwiches and other delicious party-fare- and I was amazed to hear "our" hymn being sung. Even though some of the congregation seemed as though they may have been miming the words, it did't lessen the effect of the beautiful words.
Hi Kathy,
Wow! That's an amazing heritage. It is special to have a family hymn, isn't it - I don't know the history behind ours. Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah is such a beautiful hymn! I wonder if your William Williams is related in any way to Henry Williams the missionary who came out to NZ in the 1800s?
Thanks for visiting.
ooh what a treasure to find!
Love Leanne
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