Sweet, Sweet Spirit -- Doris Akers

Doris Akers couldn’t have been very surprised with the timing of events that Sunday morning in 1962. But, perhaps she could have used a mental tape recorder, as she reflected on the incident that she experienced! Would that moment repeat itself? Or, was she about to forfeit an opportunity to document something pretty special? Post-It Notes wouldn’t be useful in saving the information or giving her the extra minutes she needed, nor allow her friends to stay in that special place.  What could she do? It seemed to be a choice between the urgent and the unique. What would you have done?

Forty-year old Doris had been prepared since childhood (see the picture here of a church in Kirksville, Missouri, where Doris Akers first plied her musical talent)

for what would take place with the choir she directed one Sunday morning at a church in Los Angeles, California. She and her friends backstage felt something unique as they prayed in the few minutes before the worship service’s start. The Spirit wasn’t apparent at first. Patience was required. So, in that moment, Doris the seeker compelled Doris the schedule-keeper to submit. This group needed prayer more than they needed to proceed with their normal routine. Perhaps she also drew upon her experience with music development since childhood as she paused in that moment. Playing the piano at age 5 and writing her first song at 10 must have told her that a song comes about in various ways, and with a sensitive recipient, ready to accept the musical gift at different paces that are regulated providentially.  She could tell by the faces she beheld, too, that it was right to wait, even to tell the waiting church leaders and expectant worshippers that there would be a delay. Eventually, she did reluctantly abbreviate the prayer session to proceed with the church service, thinking that what her mind and soul had been singing in that prayer had vanished for good. What happened the next day must have told Doris the intimate song she’d heard was important, however. It reappeared, and this time she captured its words and music on her piano. In her version of the story, Doris sounds surprised that the song resurfaced. Had this avenue of music-making, even from an experienced songwriter, never been travelled before? Was there some other ingredient that coaxed this song’s birth?

What happened in the church choir that day in L.A. that the Spirit wanted to preserve? Remembering the moment may have been crucial for someone’s faith in Doris’ choir. Maybe it was the fervency of their entreaty to God that He wanted them to recall. Was it the togetherness with like-believers that was special? Their purpose that day – to worship – was no doubt influential, too. Worship, in its most basic definition, means that I give value or worth to something – ‘worth-ship’. What if one fused all of these pieces into one package?  This was a group of fervent believers relating to God, and impacting each other as they coalesced and prepared to offer something fragrant to a holy God. Now why wouldn’t He want to save that?

       

The primary sources for the story on this song are the books Stories Behind Popular Songs and Hymns, by Lindsay Terry, Baker Book House, 1990, and The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers,2006. 

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doris_Akers