Beginning of a Journey
by Sue
Malc always loved his music and had a big collection of albums. I thought that some of his LPs were weird, as I had always bought romantic singles because, before I met Malc, I was looking for love and I felt lonely. I’d spend many hours playing romantic songs by artists like Al Green, Diana Ross, and many other Motown artists. ‘Hey there, lonely girl’ by Eddie Holman was one of my favourites. If you were one of those girls like me, you would know the emptiness I felt.
As a teenager, I spent a lot of time up in my bedroom alone, unless it was a bright sunny day then I would sit in the deckchair in the garden crocheting a blanket, which I still have today after now being married to Malc for 50 years. Malc loves this blanket he calls it his ‘sick blanket’- it always makes him feel better when he is feeling unwell and has it wrapped around him whilst lying on the sofa. The poor old blanket has been repaired so many times but he loves it so much and he won’t let me throw it out. It always seems to bring him comfort.
I have always written poems, and stories, and short plays and had always wanted to be a writer, even though I did, and still do, struggle with grammar a little. But Malc, my Editor, is very good at that – he is the best in the business of making grammatical sense of what I am trying to say when writing. We make a good team.
When I look back at when we first met, Malc would bring out his Rock albums to play. I was genuinely intrigued with some of the songs he played to me. A song by the band Wishbone Ash called ‘The King will Come’ for instance. Before I knew Malc I really hadn’t listened to Rock music much at all. I had ‘tarred’ all Rock music with the same brush - it was all hippy music to me and I was more into Tamla Motown music and Reggae. But reading the words to that particular song as it played, about the coming of a king fascinated me. I really liked it and I would get Malc to play it over and over again.
Another one of my favourite songs from Malc’s weird hippy music (which I gradually realised was not all weird hippy music at all) was a beautiful little song about an old couple coming out of a church sitting on a bench and reflecting on friends no longer with us. The song was ‘For Absent Friends’ by Genesis. The words talk about how they left ‘Tuppence on the plate’ as they left the church and then caught their bus home.
And I really liked the song ‘Stormbringer’ by Deep Purple (help, did I turn eventually into a weird hippy Rock lover?) The song talks about the ‘Stormbringer’ coming and lighting the sky. Those words, like the words to 'The King will come' really struck me as having some significant meaning to me and I realised, years later, that they did have real meaning. And there were others such as ‘The Lamb lies down on Broadway’ another Genesis song.
The Bible mentions a broad way, speaking of the two roads that are the choice facing every person in this world. The broad way, which many take, that sadly will lead to destruction and the narrow way, which leads to life. Sadly, few enter by that way.
The broad way is the way chosen by all who reject the work of Jesus Christ on Calvary, where Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God died on the cross, and gave up His life to pay for the sin of the world. Everyone’s sin, mine and yours included.
The world offers many alternatives to following Jesus Christ, but all have this in common – they offer false hope, and they lead to death and eternal separation from a loving God. The narrow way – following after Jesus is the only path that leads to God and to eternal life. Jesus (often referred to in the scriptures as the Lamb of God) indeed did lie down on the broad way. He laid down His life to satisfy a Holy God’s demand for sin to be paid for. Jesus took all of our sin upon Himself and paid the price in full.
Those songs I remembered when I first met Malc became very significant to me as God started to speak into my heart, about these eternal things, and I responded. I repented of my sin and was born again of God’s Spirit. Saved eternally and on the narrow way to eternal life. And I truly am looking forward to the day when the King will come. King Jesus will return in the sky and will call His children out of this world, and we shall be forever with Him.
Shortly after I was born again Malc also responded to the Good News of Jesus Christ and we both now wait with great longing on the return of the King and are looking forward to our home in heaven.
Which road do you find yourself on? Have you a sure and certain hope in your heart that the King loves you and you eagerly await His return? You can have.