God's Voice

When planning my mom’s funeral, there was one hymn that we all agreed should be used, “I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry.” I first learned of the hymn when I was asked to choose a hymn for my son’s baptism 13 years ago. My mom had requested we use this song because it was one she really liked

Since then, “Borning Cry” has become one of my own favorite hymns. The lyrics are meaningful to me and I find them full of God’s love and promise to be there my entire life. I get a lump in my throat at the best of times when singing this song, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to get through the entire thing at my mom’s funeral. I thought I would at least get through some of it. Silly me. I didn’t. I got so choked up after the first few words that I couldn’t even see the hymnal through the tears. Instead, I just listened.

The building was packed for my mom’s funeral. She was only 60 when she died and had touched so many lives. My brother and I also had a lot of people there to support us, some who had never even met my mom. They sang for my mom when I couldn’t and they sang beautifully. There is something about a congregation singing a hymn that makes it more beautiful than any other large group singing together. There are always “choir people” in the group and they instinctively harmonize. Even non-believers stand up a little straighter and sing a little louder at a funeral. When I didn’t have the voice to sing for my mom, God provided a voice to sing for me.

Only a week later, God provided me the opportunity to be another’s voice. The husband of an older church friend died exactly a week after my mom. One of the hymns selected for his funeral was, of course, “Borning Cry.” It still hurt to sing this song and it probably always will, but I made sure to attend the funeral because I know how important it is to lift my voice in song when others cannot; to sing praises to God when others are too broken to do so themselves.