Jon took me out for a Valentine’s Day breakfast. I love sitting at a table looking at the man I love.

I bought him a book and some motorcycle music (it’s very cold today but it’s Minnesota – there’s always hope summer will come!)…two of Petra’s old cds and a gospel cd by Alabama done in 2006.

Not romantic I guess. I know.

It’s hard to buy a man like Jon a Valentine. What do you get for the man who stands by you no matter what? What gift represents the love that’s grown deeper and hotter over thirty years? What do you get for the man who listens, offers gentle insights, timely wisdom, and discernment? What purchase will let him know that when he prays for you or peels potatoes when company is on the way that’s romantic? How do you find the right gift for the man who knows what you look like first thing in the morning and tells you you’re beautiful?

I looked and couldn’t find a single fitting gift. Not one. But I wanted a goodie or two for him to know I thought about him. The book and music are mere tokens. I got a card that tries although doesn’t succeed to tell him he’s still the one.

Honestly, I have to ask…what do you give the man who still makes your heart sing?

Music often connects me to a moment in time. I remember the first time I heard the Beatles. It was Sunday night and Ed Sullivan was having a “really good shooo…” I stood beside my dad’s red recliner mesmerized by four boys from England. It was Feb 9, 1964. They sang I Want to Hold Your Hand. Something inside me changed. There were boys out there who liked to hold girls hands. I’d wanted to be married thinking Little Joe Cartright. My vision of cool turned a corner.

Then in 1965 another group captured my attention. The Monkees. Their hit I’m A Believer was my very first favorite rock song. Davy Jones made my heart beat a little faster. I just learned that yesterday, the 13th was Peter Tork’s 65th birthday.

Then I listened to Donny Osmond (my family got so sick of Sweet & Innocent they nearly threw the album away!), Bobby Sherman, and Tony Orlando & Dawn. I had a life-sized poster of Donny in my bedroom and had to dress in the closet – it felt a little up close and personal. Lobo was also a favorite…I thought it might be romantic to be me and you and a dog named Boo traveling and living off the land (Lobo was very cute and all but if he called, I could only go for a Saturday now and then – I had to get back home to my family, my own dogs, and my bed!)

The radio was a good way to listen to the songs I didn’t have. Neil Diamond sang about his baby doing the hanky panky which I thought was probably some kind of dance. I could sing the words to House of the Rising Sun as well as Crystal Blue Persuasion not realizing one was about a house of prostitution and the other a drug. A kid named Michael Jackson sang a love song to a rat and Cher sang to Sonny. Tiny Tim tip-toed through tulips and The Cowsills sang about Hair – mostly long. Gary Puckett warned a young girl to get out of his life and Paul Revere and the Raiders sang about the Cherokee Nation. One Tin Soldier struck a cord in my heart. Birds in Tennessee walked around in their underwear (TN Birdwalk). Ray Stevens sang about streaking and Jesus loving all the little children of the world. Proud Mary kept on rollin, the Archies sang Sugar, Sugar, and the Beach Boys enjoyed endless summers. Somebody got a brand new pair of rollerskates and someone else a brand new key. Herman’s Hermits sang about a kind of hush that gave me goose-bumps and Joan Baez asked where all the flowers had gone. Jeremiah was a bullfrog and The Mama’s & Papas were California Dreaming.

I also listened to my parent’s music. Elvis, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson. Fats Domino, Patsy Cline, Frankie Lane, Johnny Horton, Rosemary Clooney, The Everly Brothers, Eddie Arnold, Roger Miller, The Righteous Brothers, Ray Price, Waylon Jennings, Sonny James (who tied for my personal favorite with Johnny Cash), Glenn Miller, and Doris Day. The Mills Brothers went once more around the block. Nancy Sinatra’s boots were made for walking, Frank Sinatra did it his way, and Dean Martin sang about love and seemed to mean it. Tom T. Hall sang about Sneaky Snakes and a one-legged chicken.

Out in the hallway between our bedrooms I sometimes sat and listened to my brother’s music as it escaped from under his closed door. Snoopy fought the Red Baron and somebody sang about Peanut Butter. Other times I sat out there in my hip-hugging bell-bottomed jeans (frayed just right), a peasant blouse, my feet bare, and my hair long, straight, and part in the middle listening to the Beatles. I wondered who Jude was. I learned later it was originally written “Hey Jules” to comfort Lennon’s son, Julian, during his parents divorce. I tried to learn the melody to Yesterday on the piano but sadness always enveloped me so I didn’t get very far. Already I was leaving my yesterdays behind and it bothered me. I was around 12 years old.

Grandma liked music too. Lawrence Welk, Liberace, Elvis when he sang hymns, Herb Alpert and the Tijuna Brass, Boot’s Randall’s Yakety-Sax, and Al Hirt. I heard the Lundstroms and The Gaithers for the first time at her house. Mostly, I heard Grandma playing the music she loved most on her piano. I can still see her tiny hands stretched across the keyboard playing Gospel and hymns with such passion her fanny sometimes left the bench!

There was church music too. The Doxology, On A Green Hill Far Away, The Old Rugged Cross, Jesus Loves Me, What A Friend We Have In Jesus, Just As I Am, When the Roll is Called Up Yonder, Do Lord, It Only Takes a Spark, He is Able, In the Garden, Amazing Grace, A Mighty Fortress, How Great Thou Art, and Away in the Manger.

As I remember and type, I realize this is a partial list of the music I listened to from the age of 9 to 19. A long-forgotten tune can bring back a memory and what’s really surprising is the fact that I can still sing along with hundreds of songs I listened to in my teens.

The list of music I’ve enjoyed from 20 to 49 is as eclectic. And I can sing along with many of those as well.

More on that another day.

The children of Israel found the desert a wandering place. As I read the biblical account I also see it as a place God walked with them. He chose to dwell with them there. Moses took them to Mount Horab (also known as Sinai) – the place of the burning bush. They crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. Pharaoh did not. They saw Him in the cloud and the pillar of fire. He fed them. For forty years nothing wore out.

God was with them in the wilderness in very real ways.

I’m taking a bit of a wilderness walk in my life right now.

Friendships are changing. Family relationships are different. People I love are aging. Some I love are suffering. A few are dying. Others are facing struggles with enormous consequences or living through circumstances beyond their control.

There are unexpected stresses on this walk. Hurts and hindrances that leave me wanting to yell but all I can work up is a good cry.

How precious is the Word of God in this wilderness way.

As I pray the words of the psalmist, I am strengthened. As I read again the Gospels my faith is renewed. As I meditate on Proverbs I am overjoyed to know Wisdom.

I need a steady intake of His Truth or I will surely perish in this wilderness place!

You know how it is – the wounds are so raw…your heart bleeding…your soul beaten. You yearn for a warm healing oil to be poured over your suffering soul and fresh water for your dry spirit.

It begins with a warm anointing of hope when a verse hits the mark. God cares.

Then a drizzle of freshness washes over your parched places as a passage meets you where you are. God knows.

Then it becomes gentle drenching rain as a chapter says what you mean but can’t find the words to say. God understands.

You look around. You’re still in the wilderness but here and there you see the desert is blooming. It’s a rough, barren, and wildly beautiful place.

It’s still hot but you’re not burned up. It’s still dry but you’re not. It’s still lonely but you’re not alone. It’s still uncertain but you’re confident. There’s turbulence but you’re at peace.

I’m there and it looks like I’ve got miles of desert yet to cross. As I take God at His Word I’ll dance across dunes and crawl across the badlands. I’ll make it through sand storms on my knees.

In times of testing…
In times of trial…
In times of tribulation…

I will believe. I will trust.

The true Oasis will be with me. He will be my constant comfort and hope.