The Source of Inspiration

Delores E. Topliff

Caedmon Audio is an imprint of Harper Collins audiobooks. Its name changed from Caedmon Records when it stopped making classical recordings to produce CDs only. Caedmon’s Call is a contemporary Christian band fusing traditional folk with world music and alternative rock.  

Both are named for one of my heroes, a 7^th-century stable-hand at Whitby Monastery, England. Anglo-Saxons loved singing. Men gathered evenings to share stories through song with everyone expected to contribute. Caedmon returned to the stable to tend the animals because he couldn’t read or write and had no tale to sing.

After he fell asleep, a man spoke to him in a vision, "Caedmon, sing me something." Caedmon replied that he could not sing—that 's why he was in the stable, not the hall.
"Yet you could sing," the man said, suggesting Caedmon sing “the beginning of all things." Still in his dream, Caedmon began singing his Hymn of Creation:

Now let us praise the Guardian of the heavenly kingdom,

The power of the Creator

And the counsel of His mind

The works of the Father of glory,

How he, the eternal Lord, originated every marvel.

When Caedmon awoke, he remembered the verses and sang them perfectly. The monks recognized his divine gift and persuaded him to become a monk.

He still didn’t learn to read or write, but heard other monks tell Bible stories and sang them as beautifully metered Anglo-Saxon poetry that the common folk loved and understood. Others followed Caedmon’s example, and through that means Bible teaching reached the hearts of England’s people in their own language for the first time.

All recognized Caedmon’s inspiration was from God, but ours is no different. Whether we’re hard at work writing, or pursuing crystal-clear spoken communication, the ideas, imagery, and the words to express them are inspired by God. Our part is to listen, and like Caedmon, partner with God to bring more of His beauty into this world.

Share the last time God gave you ideas and words to express them and you know He helped you do it? Thanks for sharing.