“Wunerful, Wunerful”
March 31, 2012
The Easter season always conjures up a childhood memory for me—dyeing Easter eggs while watching The Lawrence Welk Show. I’m not sure it is a good idea to admit that I watched The Lawrence Welk Show. I’m not sure it was cool to watch it. I’m not sure if any of my friends watched it or would even admit it if they did. But I am sure that I colored eggs and watched the Lawrence Welk Easter Show on Saturday night, on ABC. And I am sure that my family loved the show! Who couldn’t like Bobby and Cissy dancing, Guy and Ralna, the Lennon Sisters, Norma Zimmer, Joe Feeney, the bubbles and the finger champagne pop that Lawrence Welk always made. It was “wunerful, wunerful”!
There was something so wholesome and sweet about the show. During my childhood, if we were over at my Grandmom’s house on a Saturday night, Lawrence Welk would be on TV and my grandmom, aunts, uncles and cousins would all watch. And if it were a Sunday night, we would watch the Ed Sullivan show, but I digress.
I can even remember going to a Lawrence Welk Show while vacationing in Atlantic City years ago with my parents. They managed to get us tickets and it was so exciting to get to see Bobby and Cissy in person. My brothers weren’t nearly as excited as I was though. If I remember correctly they were slinking down in their seats while my parents and I were like attentive soldiers, eyes glued on stage.
It somehow gets into your bones this show. You know it is bad when on a Saturday night, thirty years past your childhood days, in the privacy of your home, you find an old episode playing “on demand” and you watch it and never tell anyone about it until just now. Yep, I had it bad for The Lawrence Welk show.
But in all those years of enjoying a wonderful choreographed musical entertainment, I didn’t know that Lawrence Welk wondered many times, “…if I were truly carrying out God’s plan for my life.” Who would have ever thought that the talented band director and host of a well-loved musical show of such renown would wonder if he were doing what God wanted him to do? Who would want to live a life, even of such illustrious fame and talent, and question if it were the right life to live. I’d like to think that Lawrence settled that question before he died in 1992.
Lest we wonder what God has in mind for our lives, let’s look to His Word and see “ah one, ah two” directions He wants us to go:
“30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ 31 The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
(Mark 12)
Now that’s “wunerful, wunerful”! (sv)