“If Happiness seems to forget you at times, poke it with a chocolate chip cookie.” ~ Dr. SunWolf
You wouldn’t think a person could be thrilled to get a bag of rocks, but you’d be wrong, especially when the rocks were hand picked by Jeanne Marie Hibberd from a Berea creek to build a cairn for my birthday. A cairn is a pile of stones used as a landmark to mark a trail, a burial place, or some other significant station. I love cairns. They were used in ancient times all over the world, and were especially popular in regions where few distinctive landmarks exist such as deserts or the arctic. They can be big or small. I’ve grown particularly fond of cairns in the last few years as I learn more about ancient customs and sacred sites. So, when Jeanne Marie showed up at Stacy’s last Saturday for Annie Bassoni’s birthday celebration, the last thing I was expecting was a birthday gift for me. She handed me a heavy bag with a paper scroll inside. I rolled it out to find a picture of a cairn and the opening lyrics from ‘Down To The River To Pray‘, an old hymn most likely written by an African slave (full lyrics below). Inside the bag were rocks she had chosen from her creek to build a cairn in my house. I was honored. You see, gifts don’t have to be expensive. They just have to come from the heart. How lucky am I to have friends who know me so well? I’d say I’m the luckiest.
“Down To The River To Pray”
Studying about that good ol’ way
And who shall wear the starry crown?
Good Lord show me the way!
O sisters let’s go down
Let’s go down, come on down
O sisters let’s go down
Down in the river to pray
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good ol’ way
And who shall wear the robe & crown?
Good Lord show me the way
O brothers let’s go down
Let’s go down, come on down
Come on brothers, let’s go down
Down in the river to pray
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good ol’ way
And who shall wear the starry crown?
Good Lord show me the way
O fathers let’s go down
Let’s go down, come on down
O fathers let’s go down
Down in the river to pray
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good ol’ way
And who shall wear the robe and crown?
Good Lord show me the way
O mothers let’s go down
Come on down, don’t you wanna go down?
Come on mothers, let’s go down
Down in the river to pray
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good ol’ way
And who shall wear the starry crown?
Good Lord show me the way
O sinners, let’s go down
Let’s go down, come on down
O sinners, let’s go down
Down in the river to pray
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good ol’ way
And who shall wear the robe and crown?
Good Lord show me the way
Leave a Reply