Becci Bookner

For those familiar with Twitter, you know a thing or two about trending topics. For those unfamiliar, a trending topic is just that—a subject that people are chatting (a.k.a. tweeting) about most often during a given time period.

Some trending topics you may be familiar with, while others take some investigation. Yesterday, a trending topic lifted my heart and I just had to share it with you.

Until I clicked on Janey Cutler’s name on Twitter, I had no idea who she was. Given the pulse of our site here, imagine my delight in finding out that she’s an incredible 81-year-old singer who made her international debut on the show, Britain’s Got Talent.

As I watched her audition video on Youtube, my heart lifted and I felt tears of joy roll down my face. Janey had instantly transported me back to my childhood. With each loving note, I remembered my Grandmother and Great Aunts singing their favorite songs to me. Some were from their homeland of Ireland, and some were their favorites from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, when they were young and maturing women. I remember asking them at various times during our visits to sing to me, while I listened, transfixed.

What brought me back to present day were the comments of the show’s judges in reaction to Janey’s audition. It was then I realized the expectations most of us have about aging. When I watched my loved ones sing, I didn’t see their age: I saw their vitality. I also saw into the depths of their loving souls. I was able to imagine them in their “hey day”—something that was still going on for them, in my mind, every time they struck their first note. Aging is a natural process of life, which doesn’t diminish our souls. Instead, I think it seasons us to express (as Becci says in her book Patterns of the Heart) a gentle grace.

If you haven’t seen Janey Cutler’s video, I hope you’ll take a moment to check it out. And, if you have an elderly loved one to spend time with, I hope you’ll encourage them to sing if they’d like to.

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