It all started with Tom Jones. . .

I’ve already confessed to you my love of Tom Jones’ voice, from my teen years through now too.  So yesterday as I was listening to him on Spotify, his version of “Danny Boy” came up. His voice on that song is amazingly beautiful and it is my brother’s favorite song. Although “Danny Boy” is an odd choice for Tom to be singing, though Danny could be a son I suppose, and Tom takes major liberties with unusual riffs, I sent it to my brother. I was so thrilled when my brother’s reaction was as blown away by the beautiful rendition as I was.

That experience got me to share Tom’s version with Sid on a speaker device. It’s one where you place your cell phone on a stand which amplifies your phone’s speaker with better quality. Since my phone was plugged into this speaker to play Tom’s song for Sid I became curious about some of the Voice Memos I had recorded on my cell phone over the years so I played them. I had completely forgotten there were so many songs that I had composed and I couldn’t remember most of them.

I shared with Sid what my song writing process had been – sometimes the words of a prayer would be the inspiration. Sometimes a melody would come to my head, sometimes a piano version with complete chords, sometimes with stumbling piano since I could just hear it in my head but couldn’t play it. I would just record these bits and pieces on my phone and some made it to become whole songs. Many of the songs were in Yiddish, or Hebrew, and I was a little sad that these many years later I had no idea the sources of so many of the Hebrew inspirations.

Then I realized that for those songs I had taken a Hebrew prayer or poem and put it to music and could probably find them! It was such a fun morning revisiting those times of inspiration which opened up a whole new opportunity to praise Him that I had set aside years ago.

As I researched one of the Hebrew songs, the title of my Voice Memo said “Im Nin’alu” which I (re)learned is a poem written by 17^th century Rabbi Shalom Shabazi.  The title translates to “If the doors [of the wealthy] are locked, the doors of Heaven will never be locked”.  Here is one translation of the poem to which I wrote a song (in 2018):

“If there be no mercy left in the world,

The doors of heaven will never be barred.

The Creator reigns supreme, and is higher than the angels

All, in His spirit, will rise

By His nearness His Life-giving breath

Flows through them.

And they glory in His name

From the moment of genesis,

His creations grow

Captivating and more beautiful.

. . . ”

What important and relevant words for today’s world! Inescapably, in our secular centered world, how closed off from love, healing, redemption, and mercy we are. To be reminded of the constancy of God in this way, in these times, was so powerful. For the reminder to come through this chain of seemingly unrelated events is mind blowing!

Encouraged and uplifted, I was intrigued to continue to follow the bread crumb trail. I researched further only to find out that the Yemenite version of a song based on this poem was recorded by Israeli singer Ofra Haza in the late ‘70s and ‘80s. Unexpectedly given the genre, the song became internationally famous in remixed versions, reaching top 10 in many countries in the mid ‘80s. It was even a top-20 hit in the U.S. and topped European charts for weeks. This inspirational song as originally recorded and remixed became well known to our secular world. God met us where we were. For this is what He faithfully does to incessantly help us find ways to find Him.

How did sharing vulnerably and lovingly with my brother a Tom Jones song get me here???!! All I thought I was doing was enjoying an exceptionally beautiful version of “Danny Boy”? Although true, now I was seeing His Hand at work over centuries and even becoming reinspired to serve Him again in musical ways!

The hints, the clues, like a Yeshua Bread-of-Life trail of crumbs led me along The Way. He takes everything we do, even when we think all we’re doing is listening to a song, and He brings us to Him! Not only that, He shows us how He’s been at work behind the scenes the whole time in ways we couldn’t even imagine, ways that are not just about us, but rather, about all of mankind.

We just have to be open to receive. Even when we don’t realize it’s happening, it is! For He is constant and He wants all to know Him. In the process He may even inspire you to serve Him in a new or different way, or remind you of ways to serve that you’ve abandoned, as He relit my desire to create worship music once again.

The ways to serve are endless, for when we love each other, when we serve, we are showing our love for Him. Are you listening? How is He prodding you to be in deeper relationship with Him by serving? What do you have to give to show your love of Him? Let your heart open to His promptings, to His Glory, to His unending love of us.

Shabbat shalom.

Diane