Hymnal Page Scan: A Song of Life Hymnary.org
Keyboard Recording:
1 In the clear, cool water
Little fishes swim,
Darting now in sunshine,
Now in shadows dim;
Under rocks they’re hiding,
Merrily at play:—
God, who made them, loves them,
Cares for them alway;
God, who made them, loves them,
Cares for them alway.
2 In the little garden
Seeds begin to grow,
Upward crowd the green leaves,
Down the rootlets go;
Buds and blossoms follow,
Making earth so gay:—
God, who made them, loves them,
Cares for them alway;
God, who made them, loves them,
Cares for them alway.
3 On the grassy meadows
See the lambs at play;
Mother sheep is watching,
Never far away;
Bossy calves are cropping
Clovers all the day:—
God, the Life of all life,
Cares for them alway;
God, the Life of all life,
Cares for them alway.
4 In the leafy branches
Cozy nests are hung,
Full of baby birdlings,
By the breezes swung;
Hear them sweetly chirping,
Happy all the day:—
God, the Life of all life,
Cares for them alway;
God, the Life of all life,
Cares for them alway.
5 In a tiny cradle,
Curtained round with white,
Lies a rosy baby,
Dimples, sweet and bright;
Hear her cooing softly,
Like a gentle dove:—
God, who made the round world,
Gives me light and love;
God, who made the round world,
Gives me light and love.
I posted recently about grounding exercises, which are exercises that help you orient yourself to the present moment. I wrote about how I struggle to update to the present moment…parts of my mind are frozen in the past before I got sick. People are often not in the present moment because they are dissociating or distracting themselves from the stress of the present moment. So then, as you start to connect the present moment again, all of the stresses you were pushing aside come flooding into your awareness.
One thing that helps me update to the present moment is focusing on nature. In the grounding exercises, you are supposed to focus on several objects in your environment and focus on what information your 5 senses are picking up on – sights, smells, tastes, touches, sounds. It does help to find objects to focus on. But if you are at home or in a familiar environment, you might have strong emotional associations and memories with the objects. So then you are supposed to try to find new objects to focus on…or something that will help you see the difference between past and present. I was trying this at home and it helped me to expand awareness outside of the house and focus on nature. And interestingly I found a helpful combination of old and new objects…so that I still felt connected to the past, but I also started to feel safely grounded in the present. That way I wasn’t totally disoriented by everything feeling new and unfamiliar…and yet I wasn’t stuck in a past moment where there was not an openness to anything new. The trees outside have been there for years, but the leaves are new. The curb around the outside of the yard and the sidewalks have been there a long time, but the blades of grass and the flowers are new. The sky is familiar…it is still a beautiful blue. And the sun is the same sun. The clouds are familiar shapes, but they are new…they are made of new condensation…and are in different shapes than the last time I looked at the sky. The river is in the same place, but it has new water flowing through it. So you see how I was able to find things that were familiar in nature…which helped me feel like I was somewhere familiar in a good way…and then find things that were new to help the present moment feel safe. It helped me see that I might be in the same place, but I am in a new time now. After focusing on nature, I started feeling more like I could look around at objects inside the house and start feeling the floor beneath my feet and start orienting myself to that environment. I’m not sure if that’s exactly how you are supposed to do the exercises. But it helped to just kind of let my mind find a point to start from where it felt safe.
The reason I find comfort in focusing on nature is because it helps me connect to a sense of God’s presence with me. The attributes of God are displayed in His creation – His wisdom, power, goodness. He created the earth as a habitation for mankind. And He still lovingly governs His creation. When we think about His care for the earth and all of His creatures, it reminds us that He cares for us, too. The words to this hymn are about this.
The 1st verse talks about little fishes swimming in the clear, cool water. Sometimes they are swimming in sunshine…and sometimes in shadows dim…sometimes hiding under rocks…sometimes merrily at play. The God who made them loves them, watches over them, and cares for them wherever they are…in the sunshine or in the shadows dim. He is there with them always.
The 2nd verse talks about a little garden where seeds are beginning to grow. The leaves grow upward, the roots grow downward. Buds and blossoms follow…making the earth beautiful and bright. When God created the world, He provided everything that humans would need…including fruits and vegetables that nourish our bodies…and He made the flowers beautiful to our sight. Genesis 1:31 (NIV) says, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” The Berean Study Bible says “the term ‘very good’ signifies the perfection and harmony of creation before the fall of man. This phrase underscores the inherent goodness of God’s creation.” This inherent goodness reflects His perfect nature. So when we meditate on nature, we are also meditating on the goodness of God. The Berean Study Bible also says that the use of the word “very” foreshadows the restoration of the creation described in Revelation 21:1-4 when God will make all things new. We live in a fallen world now which still reveals the glory of God. But it is just a glimpse of the beauty that we will experience in the new heavens and the new earth described in Revelation. The 2 verse ends by saying about about the garden with seeds and flowers in it – the God who made them loves them and cares for them always.
The 3rd verse talks about a mother sheep watching her lambs playing in grassy meadows. There are also cows eating clover. The 4th verse talks about baby birdlings sweetly chirping in cozy nests. They are happy all the day long. God, the life of all life, cares for them always.
The 5th verse talks about a baby with dimples sweet and bright. She’s in a tiny cradle, curtained round with white. You can hear her cooing softly – God who made the round world, gives her light and love.
As you are singing through this hymn, you can use it as a kind of grounding exercise. Look around in your environment and see if you see any of those things. There are fish in the river close to my house. There are flowers and birds. And if those exact things are not there, what objects in nature could you focus on? Then focus on the fish, flowers, birds, etc. and meditate on God’s loving care for them…and then bring your awareness to God’s care for humans…like how in the hymn the 1st 4 verses are about God’s care for nature and the 5th verse is about God’s care for the little girl in the cradle. At the end of the hymn, say a long with her “God, who made the round world,
Gives me light and love,” and feel yourself resting in His care.
While I’ve been writing this and thinking through the words to this hymn, it’s clicked with me what it means when they say that while you’re doing the grounding exercise, you should just let your mind gently experience the present moment…even if it’s just for a few moments…and then let it return to where it’s comfortable…and then let it visit the present moment again for a short time. This way it will be like when you are lifting weights to build muscles…you start with just a few reps. Try not to put any pressure or strain or you mind…like you are trying to make it update to the present. Instead, just let it move into the present moment briefly…and it can stay there longer as it gets comfortable. I was able to start doing that with this hymn. So that is good progress. As you are practicing with letting your mind experience the present moment, remember to focus your awareness on the fact that God is with you at all times in all moments…and keep walking close to Him throughout the day…and you will begin to be able to experience the present moment more easily as it feels safer and safer to do so.
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