No Mind Can Conceive

Our family has stumbled on an Australian recording artist who specializes in Scripture memory for kids. His name is Colin Buchanan, and his songs rival Veggie Tales in their “stuck-in-your-mind” effect. This is a good thing since his words are God’s words. If you see our green minivan rolling down I-25 at 7:55 in the morning, you can pretty much bet that we’re rockin’ with Colin.

We’ve become so familiar with the music that we speak of Colin like an old family friend, and the kids occasionally say “pawth” instead of “path.” Even 13-month-old Camryn is hooked. We’re pretty sure she’s shouting out, “God does!” at just the appropriate time in the appropriate song. (It’s either that or “gouda,” and we’re not really fancy-cheese people.)

I ended up paying about $20 to get two CDs shipped from Australia, but how can you squawk over twenty bucks when your kids have memorized dozens and dozens of verses within a month? (Dawson Trotman would be so proud!)

Kevin and I are learning them, too, because, well, it’s hard not to. Of course they are Scriptures I’ve heard repeatedly, but some of them have embedded themselves in my heart in a new way thanks to Colin. One of these is 1 Corinthians 2:9, which Colin sings as if he’s got a sinus infection. (He sings every song in a different style—patriotic, Negro spiritual, Beyoncé-esque—so they don’t all sound the same. Very helpful, if slightly weird.) “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can conceive of what God has prepared for those who love him.”

I wrote last month that after losing a baby, my heart has become more heaven-oriented. In the months after Catherine died, I devoured books and articles on heaven. I think this is a fairly common course of action for those who lose a loved one. I tried to wrap my brain around heaven, tried to do just what 1 Corinthians 2:9 tells me I can’t—conceiving of what God has in store for us. It’s kind of fun to try, but it’s also futile. Our brains weren’t created to understand the fullness of heaven. We can’t conceive of it. All we can do is look forward to it.