Stuck

That’s what I call it. That’s not a negative thing, just an accurate depiction of what is going on.

Do you ever get a song stuck in your mind, and you keep singing it over and over? I do. If I were a singer I would have an almost continual rehearsal going on in my mind. I guess that is why a brief article in TIME intrigued me for a moment.

Why do some songs stick in our heads for infuriatingly long periods of time? According to the first large-scale study of its kind, it’s all about their combination of upbeat tempos, easy-to-remember melodies. Tunes that we can’t seem to shake are sometimes known as earworms, or referred to in the scientific community as involuntary musical imagery. (TIME)

I am not sure if my “ear worms” (not sure I like that term) fit the bill as advertised here. Mine are the great hymns and songs of the Church. I find myself singing them over and over, often the same one, for long periods of time. Some do have “upbeat tempos” and easy “melodies.” But, I think maybe the one thing that fits me best is the “musical imagery.”

I see myself enjoying the family of God on Sunday morning singing together. Sometimes I picture the family of God singing together around the throne when we all get “home.” I see the images of Christ on Calvary (as  pictured in “The Passion of the Christ”) while the words to “At The Cross,” “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” and others are repeated. I see in my mind’s eye the Church at work while strains of “Make Me A Channel of Blessing,” and “Go Tell It On the Mountain” run over and over through my head. I am reminded of God’s “Amazing Grace,” and “Llove Lifted Me” while I cut brush and mow the fields. I look toward the trees and flowers as in my mind (I seldom sing aloud) the words “How great is our God, sing with me, how great is our God”. . .run over and over again.

Sometime I think I am losing it. They just won’t stop. But then I think, “Christian, you’re just praising God, and that is a good thing.”