Mama stole my Bible.

Seriously. I know it was mine—it had my name on it.

But what could I do? Mama’s smile had a song in it. A song of joy and kindness and humility. Her smile was singing a song to me about how many Bibles I already had at a young age and how that one was really perfect for her.

Now, many years later, my sisters and I look at all the notes Mama wrote on my Bible. I mean, her Bible. So, how does that story relate to chapter titled, “A Song”? Mama related to it.

To me, so much of Mama’s life was like music. Songs of hope and healing in the middle of her battles with cancer. The music she heard and the rhythm of her conversations and the melodies of her prayers.

And our family loved the beauty of songs and stories. Funny stories and serious stories. Sad songs and love songs. We realized they demonstrated life.

Some of Mama’s humorous, unexpected, unpredicted songs are similar to what we all do as kids. Unfortunately, we often “outgrow it.”

I’m not asking that we all live childish, immature lives. But maybe things would be a little better if we kept the eager joy, the wonder, and the songs of our childhood as our play lists of life.

From Chris’ book, Pause for Moms: Finding Rest in a Too Busy World.