One of the groups I have joined since coming back to Largs is the OIR Singing for Fun group.

I am not sure how much fun my singing is for others in the group, but I enjoy it, and I am sure the others have fun singing too. I am sure everyone enjoys a good song, be that singing their favourite in the shower or listening to their favourite artist.

I am sure we all have songs that mean particular things to us...perhaps one that brings back memories of a special occasion or spoke to us when facing a challenging time.

Singing is something that allows us to express so much of what we experience in our lives. It can be an opportunity for us to rejoice, it can allow us to convey heart-felt needs, it can express thanksgiving, it can release difficult feelings.

In the Bible we have a collection of 150 songs, which we call Psalms, which express all of these and more. They tell of times of great commitment, but they also tell of the writers’ struggles with the great issues of life and with faith itself.

They speak of the things we all face in life and they tell of living in the real world. For the way of faith is not an escape from reality but is about addressing the things that challenge us all.

It is about being touch with the world and all the good and the bad times. In song, we have the means to show that and so our worship is enriched as I am sure others who claim no faith can in their song explore their own lives and come to a deeper understanding of them.

It is good to be able to express our experiences of life, be that in song or some other form. The psalmists knew that, these days when there is so much said about people’s mental health, we rediscover that be it singing in celebration or to restore us at the most testing of times it is a gift for us all for everyone can sing!