Songs of Hope and Healing - Part I

In which we ask, can songs help us heal?

The past week was strange and deeply unsettling. It began with a cascade of emails, IMs, phone calls, text messages, and Facebook posts from friends. Four told me they were starting chemotherapy. One called to update me on her post-chemo surgery. She was alive, she stated flatly, and that was all she had to say about it. Then she hung up. The sixth was a photo of a friend on Facebook. He was lying in a hospital bed about to go into surgery and was wearing a loopy, drug-induced grin. He asked us all to pray for him. The seventh, eighth, and ninth messages were from friends who had contracted COVID but never fully recovered. They call themselves “long haulers” and are dealing with everything from brain fog and fatigue to breathing problems and heart failure.

All of this left me feeling a bit helpless. I knew I could do what friends do - listen, call, write, make food, and offer to walk their dogs. But what I really wished I could do was wave a magic wand and make everything better. Failing that, I did the next best thing. I could think of. I sent an email offering to do all of the above with a link to this song:

I felt it wasn’t nearly enough, but it will have to do for now. If you have any favorite songs that have helped you and/or those you care about in difficult times, please share.

Hugs!

Jena

Copyright 2021 by Jena Ball. All Rights Reserved.