The 45 Records

It was my special place.
To anyone else, it was just a basement.
To me, it was my hideaway.
It was a place of music and dreaming.

The walls in my special place were paneled like many walls in the 1960s.
I was allowed to decorate this space anyway I wanted.
I covered the paneled walls with posters.
Posters that every pre-teen and teenage girl had on her wall at that time.

Heartthrobs, they were called.
It was not only their posters but their music that made them so popular.
The pictures on the posters were taken in such a way that the heartthrob smiled only at you.
It did not matter that the poster hung in almost every girl’s bedroom, that smile was for me.

My record player was down in my special place.
I remember when I bought my first album.
The record player stand had a place underneath for albums, which quickly filled to capacity.
I knew then that record albums would be what I would buy with the money I saved.

I could be down in my special place for hours playing album after album.
I knew the songs by heart.
I sang along.
Soon the albums had liner notes with the lyrics, which made singing along a bit easier.

This was the day of vinyl record albums and 45s.
The 45 record had an A side and a B side.
You bought the 45 record for the A side but soon learned to like the B side song as well.
Those 45 records came in a paper sleeve but I found a better way to store them.

I had a plastic case with a handle that looked like an upside down bundt cake.
That handle was turned to lock and unlock the record carrier.
My carrier was bright blue.
Inside the plastic record carrier was a pole in the center.

A 45 record was taken out of the paper sleeve and put on the pole.
It took a while but eventually my carrier was full of 45 records.
How I wish I still had my record carrier and those old 45s.
They have been long gone and I never really knew what happened to them.

I do remember how special my records were to me.
They were so special that I remember a walk to the Dairy Queen one summer night.
I was walking with my best friend to get some ice cream.
I remember all the things I said to her that night on our walk.

My mother had just died and my father wanted to go away.
It seemed as if he wanted to go as far away as he possibly could go.
He booked a trip to Europe.
When you are 15, almost 16, you are not able to say, I don’t want to go, but that is how I felt.

I was 15 years old and had never flown in an airplane before; I was terribly afraid.
The walk to the Dairy Queen was the night before I was going to leave on this trip.
After the small talk that friends can easily do, I got serious.
My friend could tell something was on my mind.

I want you to know that you’re my best friend.
If anything happens to me on this airplane, I want you to have all of my records.
I remember she looked surprised because she knew how much my records meant to me.
Nothing is going to happen to you, she assured me.

I know, I said not so sure, but if anything does happen, my records are yours.
We walked the rest of the way in silence.
We got to the Dairy Queen and the ice cream seemed to change the mood.
We talked about all the things girls talk about when they are 15 years old.

The trip came and went.
I was afraid to fly but God had protected me even then.
My friend was glad to see me back safe and sound.
The fact that I verbally willed my records to her was never discussed again.

Very soon after I returned home, I had my 16th birthday.
That same friend had organized a surprise party for me with other friends as well.
It was just a small group but I still remember how very much that meant to me.
One of the gifts was a new album from a band that a friend enjoyed and thought I would, too.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.  I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:13-19)

When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation we receive a deposit.
It is much better than willing my records to my best friend if something had happened to me.
This deposit is certain.
We can be sure that we will receive it.

That deposit is the promised Holy Spirit who dwells in us when we believe.
The Holy Spirit is is our Helper and our Comforter.
The Holy Spirit is sent by God the Father in Jesus’ name.
The Holy Spirit will teach us all things and remind us of everything Jesus said. (John 14)

The Holy Spirit is a deposit we can count on when we come to Jesus in faith.
The Holy Spirit is precious to God the Father.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of His Son that dwells in the heart of all believers.
No carrying case is necessary since we are the ones that carry Him along with us wherever we go.

Can you imagine how very special the Holy Spirit is to God the Father?
The death of His Son, Jesus, and His resurrection from the dead made this deposit possible.
It is guaranteed.
We are kept and held in the Father’s hands.

Nothing can snatch us out of the Father’s hands.
Our eternity is secure.
We have a guaranteed deposit.
God promised.

2 responses to “The 45 Records”

1. Always so full of encouragement, wisdom and perspective. Thanks Momma G

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   • Thanks, Greg! I am delighted that this story blessed you. I love keeping up with your posts. Press on in your Kingdom work as you serve the Lord with your sweet wife. Blessings.
     Momma G

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