Catch a Falling Star While Singing in the Rain
Old songs and bygone years of innocence
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalms 27:1, KJV)
Cathie and Judy, my two older sisters, had abundant joy in their hearts. They also had ideas in their heads.
They turned the top bunk of their bed into a make-believe roller coaster and would squeal with glee as they imagined the slow assent, fast decline, and hairpin turns on the imaginary track.
They learned a song on the radio with the words:
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket; Never let it fade away. Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket; Save it for a rainy day. For love may come and tap you on the shoulder some starless night. Just in case you feel you want to hold her, you’ll have a pocket full of starlight. (Song by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss)
They made hand motions and a little dance. With practice, they put on a show for our parents.
Now let me tell you, Perry Como had nothing over my sister’s performance. My dad thought they were so cute he cried tears of laughter and joy.
I came into the picture a few years later. Our home always had music, and I climbed onto the bandwagon. Skipping around the outside perimeter of our tiny home and singing at the top of my lungs, “I’m a happy little butterfly, tra la la la la,” won me the nickname — “Happy Butterfly.”
Fast forward a few more years, and I have grown children and grandchildren. Let me tell you about my little granddaughter, Olivia. She is just as cute as they come with her toothless smile and giggle.
Olivia’s heart, too, is full of songs. She amazed me when she stood before a big crowd and sang a Whitney Houston song, mic and all, and just like my dad from many years ago, my eyes welled up with tears of joy.
Joy emanates from the depths of Olivia’s soul. She lives in the days of innocence and security.
But life happens as you grow older. We go from scraped knees to broken hearts. We progress from playground squabbles to broken homes and marriages. We graduated from naivety into the world of hard knocks.
We cry a million tears and agonize over a myriad of things that shake our world.
Life changes us.
Not all changes are bad. We grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, but innocence gets lost somewhere along the way. Skepticism replaces trust. Fear overshadows security.
Joy takes a hard blow.
However, that joy was never wholly lost on me. Some of my children still think I am naive, and that’s fine with me. The day God revealed His Son in me, my life was complete.
Any time I lack something, Jesus puts things that rob my joy to rest. Whether it be sorrow, pain, sickness, fear, worry, doubt, or skepticism, Christ is my helper. The essentialness of His ever-presence helps me to be glad even when I’m going through a storm.
I’m singin’ in the rain, Just singin’ in the rain. What a glorious feeling, I’m happy again. I’m laughing at clouds, so dark up above. The sun’s in my heart and I’m ready for love. (Words by Arthur Freed)
I can no longer physically sing, dance, or skip, but I have the Son in my heart, and His love is in, over, under, behind, and through me. He is more than a pocket full of starlight; he is my bright Morning Star who lights up my life and world.
The Lord is my strength, and He conquers my fear. With my voice box shot, Christ forever puts a song in my heart. And it’s singing:
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart. (Song by George William Cooke)
In my mind, I sing it with gusto, hand motions and all. And you know what? If the devil doesn’t like it, he can sit on a tack.
