…a heart that wanted to be tied to another through the notes of life’s song

A note can have a variety of meanings, but for me there are 3 that are distinct. Notes can be found in a song we hear, a collection of heartwarming words or reminders, and the flavor in coffee beans. When I think of these examples, they are what bring people together and give life to the soul.

Throughout my childhood I have memories of my mother playing the piano and singing. My dad served in the US Navy and was out at sea a lot. This left my mom being a single parent of 3 girls for months at a time. She began each morning at the piano mostly singing hymns and church songs. Every once in a while a contemporary song would find its way onto her playlist. My most remembered and loved was, “What I Did For Love”.

I really believe that my mom not only enjoyed singing, but the songs she sang gave life to her lonely longing heart. She found joy in participating in the church choir, requested solos, Christmas cantatas. and the “old folks homes”. Even today you can still find her singing and using her gifts to bring joy and life to other longing souls.

Another experience from my childhood was the gift my mom had in writing notes. Before there were home computers with blessed edit and delete buttons, she would use SHEETS of paper. She’d fill these sheets with words and correction doodles, trying to find just the right combination of words to express her sentiment. She was determined to ensure that the recipient would know her heart. Most people would oodle over her notes and letters, and as the years passed I began to see the value of a thoughtfully written note.

Before there were coffee shops and roasters on every street corner there was the waking up every morning to the unforgettable aroma of Maxwell House or Folgers Coffee being brewed. Who else is recalling the smell in their memory bank with me right now? I bet you can recall the commercial coffee jingles too, especially if you are over the age of 30!

My dad was the Maxwell House coffee drinker and though I found the smell to be a comfort, I never acquired the taste until many years later. Fast forward 26 years. I was a mother of 2 babies 15 months apart and I was lonely and tired! Being new to a neighborhood, another young mom invited me over and introduced me to friendship and coffee. The intoxicating smell of pumpkin spice flavored coffee filled her home. The first time she offered me a cup I took it to be polite. It very quickly became our Monday morning ritual.

It was in that season that not only did my heart open to this new morning song in a mug but to the deep hidden desire to have a friend. It had been years since I’d had a girlfriend to do life with me. I had allowed my heart to close up with the lie that I didn’t need anyone and that all relationships came with disappointment and pain. I wish I could say that it proved different, but it didn’t. The thing that came from it was the beginning of God stirring up the soil of my heart and opening my eyes to see what I was really longing for…a heart that wanted to be tied to another through the notes of life’s song, through the symphony of community. Out of this realization the beginnings of Tied Notes was born.