Are you marching, are you singing? Let me hear you! Shout it loud!

As I get older many of my childhood memories seem to be fading out…but one of the few that seem to stay brightly lit-kinda like a Facebook highlight but instead it’s a life marker status. Its summer, we lived in Sicklerville, NJ, I was all of 8 or 9, pick tales in my hair and I can vividly remember marching down the road with my mom and my siblings in a single file row to the small convenient store to get an ice cream, cold root bear in a frosty glass bottle or perhaps my favorite pack of gum. Back then treats were a really big deal! We sang this tune as we marched along, "The ants go marching one by one, hoorah, hoorah! The ants go marching one by one, hoorah, hoorah! The ants go marching one by one the little one stopped to tie his shoe" (or suck is thumb, climb a tree, shut the door, pick up a dime, pray to heaven, or shut the gate..you get the idea!). We sang our hearts out, marching down the road in single file form. It was fun-we were on a mission!

The memory makes me nostalgic, it makes me smile. It also reminds me, my march and song are certainly not over-I march on and I certainly hum a different tune these days. I think it’s more like this:

"Oh when the saints go marchin´in, Lord I want to be in that number, when the saints go marchin´in."

  

At the end of the day, when my marching orders are over…there’s a prize –waiting for me, for us. This prize isn’t some small trinket or object that will soon be forgotten-listen to the next part of my song,

"All my folks have gone before me, All my friends and all my kin; But I'll meet with them up yonder, When the saint go marchin´in. Oh when the saint go marchin´in, I will meet them all up in heaven, When the saint go marchin´in. "

I feel my steps becoming more urgent, hear that battle cry? I press on and march toward the prize. Let me not stay so focused on my steps, my song, my hum that I forget to increase the troops, the force-to multiply the sounds of stomping feet-and humming battle cries. This is what we sing:

"Come and join me in my journey, 'cause it's time that we begin; And we'll be there for that judgment, When the saint go marchin´in. Oh when the saint go marchin´in, We will be in line for that judgment, When the saint go marchin´in."

  

Are you marching, are you singing? Let me hear you! Shout it loud! All you weary, all you worn-push on, look up, the day is drawing close! Those mighty marching steps are going to hear the trumpet sound and we will know that our march was not in vain-we pressed on, we fought hard-towards the prize!

"And when they crown him King of Kings, Then Lord let me be in that number When they crown him King of Kings, And when they gather round the throne :| Then Lord let me be in that number ,When they gather round the throne"

"And on that hallelujah day, Then Lord let me be in that number , On that hallelujah day And while the happy ages roll, Then Lord let me be in that number, While the happy ages roll"