Songs of the Soul | “Old Church Choir”
Shared by the Caldwell Family
Ashlynn sometimes jokes that she feels like she lives in a movie musical. That’s just how she and her brother process things. Whether it’s talking about what Disney soundtrack to crank up while we clean the house, what playlist to rely on to make a road trip seem shorter, the latest “earworm” one of them has brought home from school or choir, or the impromptu originals Boaz sometimes creates to narrate his superhero adventures, music is a constant in the life of our family. It’s really loud sometimes (trust us) but mostly a lot of fun.
It’s not hard to understand why David turned to Psalm-writing no matter what his mood or circumstance. Even before we had kids, certain songs came to define the highs and lows of our life together, filling in the places where our own words fell short of expressing the true joy, love, sorrow or confusion we might have felt in any given moment, creating our own personal soundtrack that we can listen back on and remember. And not being terribly musical ourselves, we are grateful for the courage and talents of others who have helped us express our emotions in this way over the years. (We also really appreciate all of the gifted members of our congregation who have, in one way or another, helped us foster this understanding of music in our kids.)
All that said, it was hard to choose one song for this Lenten assignment. But the more we talked and thought about it, we realized that for our family music is all about connecting – with God, our emotions, each other, our congregation, our world. So with that in mind, “Old Church Choir” by Zach Williams was the winner. We first heard and enjoyed the song on Life 102.5, but the connecting started when Echoes of Grace began to play it on Sunday mornings and then invited Joyful Noise and Raise Praise to join them one Sunday last spring. It was one of only a few times Ashlynn and Boaz got to sing together with their choirs, which made it extra special. Once the kids both had it down, it became a natural part of the movie musical that seems to be our life these days:
I got an Old Church Choir singing in my soul, I got a sweet salvation and it’s beautiful, I’ve got a heart overflowing ’cause I’ve been restored, There ain’t nothing gonna steal my joy, No, there ain’t nothing gonna steel my joy
On the best of days, this chorus is a fun way to rock out in the car on the way to school and praise our God for all the wonderfulness of life. On the worst of days, it’s an incredible reminder that nothing in this world can change the promises our God has made us. We are connected to each other – in our little family of four as well as in our wider church family – by a sweet salvation and a God who loves us. There ain’t nothing gonna steal THAT joy!
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This post is part of our Lenten devotional series “Songs of the Soul” – learn more at gslcwi.com/lent
