Wool & Words

I found an interesting bit of faith in an unlikely-ish place today. A recent post to Pajiba (a place for pretty scathing entertainment reviews) asked readers to list songs that always made them cry. Apparently, "The Rainbow Connection" is a big weeper. A surprising one to me was the hymn, "On Eagle's Wings." A bit of the lyric:

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord
Who abide in His shadow for life
Say to the Lord "My refuge,
My rock in whom I trust."

And He will raise you up
On eagle's wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand.

It's really a lovely hymn, all about how God takes care of us if we trust in Him. The posters to the site who referenced it seemed to associate it with various funerals, which makes sense, I suppose, as it's the kind of hymn that would be sung to give comfort. Still, it was strange to see this perennial church favorite making its way into that place and I started thinking about music that makes me weep. Sometimes, when I'm singing particular hymns, I get really choked up and I have a hard time continuing. "On Eagle's Wings" doesn't usually do it for me, but Carey Landry's "Isaiah 49" always does:

I will never forget you, my people;
I have carved you on the palm of my hand.
I will never forget you; I will not leave you orphaned.
I will never forget my own.

Does a mother forget her baby?
Or a woman the child in her womb?
Yet even if these forget, yes, even if these forget,
I will never forget my own.

Gets me every time. The music is like a lullaby. Just gorgeous. Our church usually does this one during the Easter Vigil mass, when the lights are all off in the church and we're going through the Old Testament. It's this moment of absolute peace and safety; we all sit in the dark waiting.

It's the surrender, I think, the realization in the singing of a connection, of something larger than oneself; for me, it's always a release of burden that makes me cry. The post at Pajiba made me think about that again.

What makes you guys weepy?