"When perils o'ertake us, you will not forsake us."

Hymn: “We Praise Thee (You), O God, Our Redeemer” – Julia Cady Cory (1882-1963)

Typical Tune: KRESMER

Ever get separated from your parents when you were a child? Even now, years later, a certain chill probably went down your spine at the very remembering of such an experience.

The one that comes to mind for me was in Atlantic Mills in Knoxville where I had gone to shop with my parents. Atlantic Mills was much like our current K-Mart or a Wal-Mart, but this was in the early 1950’s before either of those came into being. It was like a bargain basement gone haywire – so much stuff to look at, so little time.

I could have used the “prone to wander, Lord, I feel it” text here, because as a preschooler I was Curious (Ronald) George. Even then, I had to figure out how everything worked. I simply could not stay close to a parent, especially in a huge store like this with aisle after aisle of things I had never seen before. Sure enough, I was prone to wander off and found myself in another aisle, holding on to the skirt of someone else’s mother!

I will never forget the terror that welled up within me… or the blood-curdling scream that came forth from my tiny vocal cords! “Where’s my mama?” I cried. “She left me here all by myself!”

That my-sheep-hear-my-voice thing kicked in, and Hedy came flying around the corner to sweep me up and assure me that she had not left me. We immediately left without buying anything. We found Daddy sitting on a bench out front… smoking, of course … totally unaware of why Mama was in a tizzy, I was weeping uncontrollably, and we were suddenly hurrying back home to Pigeon Forge.

Why is it when we are caught up in the perils of being lost that we automatically assume that we have been abandoned? I’m the one who had wandered off; my mother hadn’t even had time to miss me! But I was confident that my parents had just dropped me off there and gone out to shop for another similar model of cute little boys equipped with a charming smile and a quick wit. (!)

Anytime I come across a hymn-phrase that reminds me that God “will not forsake us,” I have a flashback to Atlantic Mills – I’m serious, folks; I really do! And I recall that I had moved into unknown territory, and that it turned out that I had not been deserted after all – and I won’t ever be abandoned by my heavenly Father. Forsaking is not in his nature. And somewhere deep inside my terrified self, I heave a sigh of great relief… and head on home.

The St. Olaf Choir Sings This Hymn