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Michael Fox CPCC,
founder of m�agine!,
is a professional
coach and trainer,
author and creative artist, whose work has been featured throughout
the world.
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Two hours north of the Crescent City, aboard Arlo Guthrie's famed City of New Orleans, the train pulls into the idyllic Southern town of Brookhaven, Mississippi. A short, lovely drive west of town lived M. Lynwood Smith--composer and evangelist, but above all, friend and mentor. Lynwood's modest home sits off the highway and off the road, several hundred feet down a dirt drive. Upon your approach to the house, you'd notice a slight depression, several feet wide, that cuts across the drive, emerging from the pasture on one side and swallowed up by the woods on the other. This unremarkable indentation is a remnant of the old highway that ran from Nashville to New Orleans, the very road that General Andrew Jackson traversed to lead his troops to the Battle of New Orleans at the conclusion of the War of 1812. The South is a wonderful land of legacy and old knowing.
Lynwood was something of an enigma: a man of faith and fear; silly though somber; sentimental yet severe, content with little while appreciative of comforts; fiercely independent but lonely; gracious yet judgmental. Like any creative personality, Lynwood's moods could range from teddy bear to barely bearable. But Lynwood's legacy includes the composition of some thousand songs and hymns, a catalog of music managed for several years by a pioneer of gospel music, Bill Gaither.
My last visit with Lynwood was the weekend before his passing, in the autumn of 2007. Lynwood had been admitted to King's Daughters Medical Center in Brookhaven. I had never seen Lynwood so vulnerable. I held his hand, stroked his head, prayed with him, reassured him. Lynwood was most frightened that weekend by the failure of his kidneys and the specter of dialysis. My father has been on dialysis for years and I tried to dispel Lynwood's fears. Lynwood lay on his side, a tenacious grip with both hands upon the rail of his hospital bed, quietly staring at me with the anxious face of child. After a few minutes, Lynwood quietly asked, "Michael, tell me when they're ready to start." I smiled, observed his blood coursing through the tubes of the dialysis machine, and said, "About five minutes ago." Lynwood meekly smiled with relief and said, "You're kidding me."
Within moments, Lynwood let go of his grip of the rail and fell peacefully asleep.
Did I mention Lynwood was a composer?
Among the thousand songs that Lynwood penned was a powerful hymn, a favorite of mine, entitled, "Be Still and Know":
"Be still and know that I am God,"
Of old the Lord hath said!
"Thy refuge and a present help,
Thou are securely led."
"Be still and know that I am God,"
Lest ye should soon forget,
"I am the mighty God of Hosts,
I am thy ruler yet."
"Be still and know that I am God,
Who maketh wars to cease,
Be not afraid, I am thy God,
I give my people peace!"
Lynwood drew inspiration for the hymn from a song of reassurance, Psalm 46, from Israel's inspired hymnal. Lynwood himself, however, may not have fully comprehended the powerful implications of the forty-sixth psalm: "Be still and know that I am God..." I think of it when I recall Lynwood's fingers slipping from the rail of his hospital bed, his fears relieved; I think of it when my own fears grip my spirit and flesh. For the Hebrew word translated, "be still," is a word that means, "let go of your grip"...
"Let go of your grip, and know that I am God."
"Let go of your grip" might show up differently in each of us.
Where do you need to "let go of your grip and know..."?
What would it look like?
What's the "knowing" you need before you let go of your grip?
Is it a "head-knowing" or is it a "heart-knowing"?
What's the learning?
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Michael Fox
m�agine!
530/613.2774
P.O. Box 9144
Auburn, CA, USA 95604
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In addition to personal and professional coaching,
m�agine! specializes in spiritual transformation coaching,
employing its proprietary models: Values, Vision, Voice and Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength.
Michael's books include Complete in Christ,
Complete in Christ Spiritual Transformation Workbook, and Biblio�files.
Coaching fees are based upon a sliding scale. Contact us for details.
Limited scholarships are available for spiritual transformation coaching.
On the flip side, if you are able, please inquire about opportunities
to fund scholarships for those who cannot afford coaching fees.
View our archives!
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