# PonderIt

## Sunday, November 09, 2008

### Music and BYU students

My fourth child was born the day after election day, Wednesday November 5. He is currently in the NICU, being treated for severe jaundice and other blood-related problems. That's the bad news; the good news is that his levels are going down, he's responding well to treatment, he's not in any pain, and although we don't get to take him home for several more days, once he is released we don't have to worry about these problems again--it's a one time thing.
Still, it's been a bit of a bummer. With number three (my son with spina bifida), I was completely geared up to spend tons of time at the hospital, and emotionally (more) ready to do so. With this baby, it has been a surprise, which is always a little harder for me to deal with. My three kids at home aren't happy with my absence, especially the youngest--at almost 2, with a giant cast on his left leg because of recent surgery related to his spina bifida, he has been a bear with Grandma, and sometimes even with Daddy. Add to that the general exhaustion and hormonal shifts that follow childbirth, it's not a wonder that I am a little shaky and sad, prone to tears and frustration.
So what does this have to do with my post's title, "Music and BYU Students"? Simply this. It's Sunday night, I'm in the lobby of the main hospital in Utah Valley, which is very near BYU campus. I'm waiting until it's time to feed my little son again, and the lobby is quiet and peaceful. Various people walk by, most still dressed in their Sunday best, going to visit friends, family, or ward members. When a group of college-age people stop at the Information desk, I pay little attention to them until they begin singing.
It is one of my favorite hymns, "I Need Thee Every Hour", but oddly my first reaction is irritation at the intrusion into the silence. But then I feel my eyes begin to sting, and I look closer at the group. They are not singing loudly, nor are they facing out into the lobby--they are mostly singing for the elderly volunteer manning the front desk. They are not the most accomplished singers I have ever heard, but they are on-key and have some harmony. As I continue to listen, the words sink into my heart, and I have to blink rapidly to stop from crying.

> I need thee every hour
> Stay thou nearby
> Temptations lose their power
> When thou are nigh
> I need thee!
> O I need thee
> Every hour I need thee
> O bless me now, my Savior,
> I come unto thee

When I was in college, I didn't usually participate in the hospital or nursing home singing visits. My general feeling was that a bunch of young, healthy kids barging into the hospital for an hour was an intrusion, generally unwelcome. And (like most activities in college) impressing the opposite sex was a large part of the draw, and I felt weird doing "service" with that end in mind.
But I may have to change my opinion now. For a few moments, unexpectedly, on a day that most decidedly does not feel like Sunday, I was privileged to feel the Spirit. I could hear the love those students have for singing, for the Savior, for others. I was reminded of all my good fortune, the tangible and real blessing of having the Gospel in my life--of having Christ in my life. I am comforted.
Thank you, singers. Whoever you are, whatever your motives, thank you for singing in the lobby of Utah Valley Regional Medical Center tonight. You brought peace to my heart.

#### 5 Comments:

- Sorry to hear you have to deal with hospital stuff again, but congrats on baby #4! I've had a few friends recently dealing with the bad jaundice, thank goodness it is passing. Pretty funny though how you can change your mind. I never wanted to do service like that before either because of the intrusion aspect, maybe next time I'll reconsider.
  PS This is Steph this time, not Jacob.

  By JandS Morgan, at 11/09/2008 9:19 PM

- That is tough--I hope the baby gets to go home with you as soon as possible! Congrats & best wishes!

  By mj, at 11/09/2008 9:47 PM

- You know, all of our sacrament meeting talks yesterday were about music, and I didn't "get" any of it. If they had just gotten up there and read what you wrote it would've made a lot more sense to me.
  With number 2 we almost had a hospital stay for jaundice, but they let him come home under the agreement we had to bring him in EVERY DAY. That was hard enough for me, I certainly feel for what you're going through. Gratz on welcoming your new bundle of joy into the world!

  By Mo Mommy, at 11/10/2008 2:30 PM

- This post was so inspiring to me. I am always amazed at how the Lord puts his angels in just the right places to lift our spirits.I am not always opened to it. I 'm glad you were.

  By Laurene Ross, at 11/12/2008 5:40 AM

- I found a Wonderful site on Isaiah!
  http://www.isaiahexplained.com/
  The site has free lessons on every chapter.
  Very well done and in the author’s own voice.
  Every Isaiah Chapter has the Analytical Commentary of Isaiah. Enjoy this personable verse-by-verse commentary of Isaiah by well-known Hebrew scholar Avraham Gileadi.
  “Dr. Gileadi is the only LDS scholar I know of who is thoroughly competent to teach the words of Isaiah”—Professor Hugh Nibley, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. (1. 6. 2003)
  “It is my testimony that this man has been brought forward and trained at this time to help those inside the Church into Isaiah, and those outside the Church, Jew and Gentile, through Isaiah into the Church” —Arthur Henry King, author, former BYU professor and London
  Temple President.
  “Dr. Gileadi has achieved a major breakthrough in the investigation of a book of such complexity and importance as the Book of Isaiah”—Professor David Noel Freedman, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  “Dr. Gileadi’s work will render obsolete almost all the speculations of Isaiah scholars over the last one hundred years . . . enabling scholarship to proceed along an entirely new line . . . opening new avenues of approach for others to follow”—Professor Roland K. Harrison, Wycliffe College, Toronto, Canada.
  “Only one who is truly at home not only with the Hebrew but with the ancient manner of biblical thought could have produced such an insightful and ground-breaking book”—Professor S. Douglas Waterhouse, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.
  “Avraham Gileadi’s unsealing of the Book of Isaiah will forever change people’s
  understanding of Judeo-Christian religion, lifting it to heights hitherto known only to prophets and saints”—Arie Noot, corporate executive, Edmond, Oklahoma.
  “Isaiah Decoded is a huge breakthrough for the seeker of truth—Jew, Christian, Moslem, and agnostic. From an ancient writing, Gileadi has brought to light eternal truths about the nature of God and our relationship to him that have lain buried for centuries in the dust of time”—Guy Wins, fifth-generation Jewish diamond dealer from Antwerp, Belgium.
  “Gileadi is the only scholar I know who has been able to express the Jewish expectation of the Messiah in relation to the life and mission of Jesus of Nazareth”—Daniel Rona, Israeli tour guide, Jerusalem, Israel.
  “Dr. Gileadi has clearly demonstrated his mastery of the Book of Isaiah and of the scholarly literature dealing with it”—Professor Ronald Youngblood, Bethel Theological Seminary, San Diego, California.
  “Avraham Gileadi’s books and tapes take the casual observer of Isaiah’s words and transform him into an enlightened and lifelong student of the Word of God”—Allan and Nancy Pratt, LDS mission president, Toulouse, France.
  “Dr. Gileadi has awakened a whole new depth of my understanding of Isaiah’s prophetic message. His books and tapes illuminate the urgent relevance of Isaiah’s writings to our own day”—Becky Douglas, supervisor and sponsor of three orphanages in India, Atlanta, Georgia.
  “Dr. Gileadi’s translation [of the Book of Isaiah] is clear and smooth, allowing the reader to appreciate the power and beauty of Isaiah as conveyed in the Hebrew original”—Professor Herbert M. Wolf, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois.
  “Gileadi has uncovered an amazing message written in a divine code by the prophet–poet Isaiah. This will give comfort, hope, and joy to masses of people as they cope with the perplexing events now unfolding before their eyes”—Fenton Tobler, thirty years elementary school principle, Las Vegas, Nevada.

  By Anonymous, at 12/21/2008 10:36 AM

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