I have a friend. I haven’t seen him in at least 40 years. Though all these years have passed, I have nothing but fond memories of our childhood together…usually in the desert, climbing on rocks, playing in the dirt, getting too close to the campfire.
His name is Jack now, but he’ll always be Jackie to me. Just like I’m Bob now, but I’ll always be Bobby to him.
I couldn’t believe it when I heard Jackie’s wife had died. It was sudden and unexpected. There he was, facing this tragedy, trying to tell their daughter where her mom had gone. I couldn’t imagine the heartbreak.
For some reason, each time I thought about Jackie and his daughter, I couldn’t help thinking about playing momma’s song and singing along. I had no idea what any of it meant, but still, this refrain continued…singing along to momma’s song.
A couple weeks later, I was sitting in an airport (as I often do nowadays) waiting for a delayed flight to take me home. I decided to pull out a yellow pad and see where this refrain about momma’s song would take me.
Here’s what was on that yellow pad when they finally called us for our flight:
Momma’s Song
Looking back…
We were so complete
Everything was sweet until that day
we heard the news.
Our silence grew
How could this be?
We never knew until that day
The doctor said it was too late
Her momma was gone, all too fast
There was nothing the doc could do
He shook my hand and held me close.
My only thought was of her song
That one I used to sing along
It was our Endless Summer
It had just begun
And now, alone, I faced her setting sun.
Oh Lord, please won’t you play her song!
I only want to sing along
You know the one I need, won’t you help me sing along!
And there she was, our sweet Lorraine
I could see through all her tears
All she felt was numbness and pain
Who would ever play her song?
Especially now that momma’s gone.
Oh Lord, please won’t you play her song!
She only wants to sing along
You know the one she needs—won’t you help her sing along!
We sat and cried
I held her close
I felt so weak, but it was our sweet Lorraine
Who gave me strength.
There we sat, I had no plan
What should we do now that momma’s gone?
And there it was, her words so sweet
The melody we knew complete
She was singing to us once again
The sun was rising, her new day was born
We could feel her in those words
We couldn’t help but sing along.
It’s been many years since that day
It’s our sweet Lorraine’s wedding day.
As we started to dance the Father’s dance, my daughter cried
Oh Daddy please won’t you sing her song
The one momma used to sing
I only want to sing along
You know the one, won’t you help me sing along!
And so we danced, and her momma sang
Her words so clear, she’s singing now and that’s all we can hear
Oh, momma, we can hear your song
We’ll always sing along!
Photo by Olivier Fahrni on Unsplash
Encouragement is Personal 