I walked into the dining room in Crandall Rehabilitation Center in search of my mom. They were doing a hymn sing and they had taken her there before I had gotten there in the morning. I found her sitting amongst the other residents and I just waited and watched for a little bit while she sang. It moved me to tears and I didn’t want her to see my crying
As I walked up behind her I snapped a quick picture on my phone. If you can see the song she was singing it was “God Will Take Care of You’. You can understand why I got a little bit choked up if you know the words to that song.
God Will Take Care of You
Civilla Martin (1904)
1 Be not dismayed whate’er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath his wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.Refrain:
God will take care of you,
Through ev’ry day,
O’er all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.2 Through days of toil when heart does fail,
God will take care of you;
When dangers fierce your path assail,
God will take care of you. [Refrain]3 All you may need he will provide,
God will take care of you;
Nothing you ask will be denied,
God will take care of you. [Refrain]4 No matter what may be the test,
God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon his breast,
God will take care of you. [Refrain]
I hugged her and let her know that I was there and sang the rest of the hymns with her. Even though she doesn’t remember a lot of things these days she always remembers hymns. That is very typical as people age. They may forget family names and sometimes the simplest of things but music remains a constant and steady in their lives. That is so comforting to me.
I wondered what the origin of this song was that I have sung for years and years and did a little bit of research online. Hymnologist Kenneth Osbeck wrote the following which explains how the hymn came to be.
“It was composed while the Martins were spending several weeks as guests at the Practical Bible Training School at Lestershire, New York, where Mr. Martin was involved in helping the president of the school, John A. Davis, prepare a songbook. The Reverend W. Stillman Martin, a well-known Baptist evangelist, was invited to preach at a church some distance from the Bible school. That Sunday morning, Mrs. Martin became suddenly ill, making it impossible for her to accompany her husband to his speaking engagement. Mr. Martin seriously considered cancelling his speaking assignment, since it would be needful for him to be gone from her for a considerable time. Just then, however, their young son spoke up and said, ‘Father, don’t you think that if God wants you to preach today, He will take care of Mother while you are away?’”
After hearing the words of her son Civilla Martin sat and wrote those words. When her husband returned from his preaching she gave him the words and he sat down at his little organ and wrote the music. That night he and two other teachers completed the song. Pretty amazing how this song that means so much to so many came to be written.
As I sit here missing my mom and knowing that she is settling into her new room in Memory Lane I draw comfort from the words of this ageless hymn. Thank you, Civilla Martin, for penning those words that have survived the test of time.
Do you have a favorite hymn? I would love to know what it is so leave me a comment and Comment for a Cause for our cause of the month – CRASH. You can read more about that here.
