The Orchestra in My Life

                      
Tonight I was given the gift of going to the symphony.  (Thanks, J.)  As I sat there and watched and listened, I had thoughts about the correlation of the orchestra and the choir to people in my life.  These may not be formulated completely, but here goes.  (And, I'm certain they are not completely original - in that others may have made these comparisons before, but I'm okay with that.)
                    
1)  There are many different instruments in the orchestra, different voices in the choir.  There are many different people who are playing into my life right now.  Family.  Friends.  Colleagues.  (And I am blessed to have colleagues who are also friends!)  Neighbours.  People from the school community.  People from the church community.  Friends of my family.  I could go on, but I won't.

2)  These instruments are sometimes playing all at once, creating powerful music that soothes and calms or music that incites a playful spirit or music that storms the gates of heaven or something inbetween.

3)  Sometimes only a few instruments are playing at once, their gifts shining brightly into my life.

4)  The different groups of instruments take turns playing the melody.  While one group plays the melody and carried the song, the others play the harmony, supporting and deepening the music.  While one group takes the forefront in my life, the others remain playing, but more quietly and in the background.

5)  Even within one group of instruments, there are different techniques used to create the music.  Just as different members of my orchestra play into my life in different ways and at different times.

6)  As the orchestra played, my mind was free to wander and thoughts were free to percolate.  As my orchestra of support has played into my life, I have been freed to rest, to savour, to be fed (and not just physically), and to ponder.  What a gift.

Portions of the lyrics from the symphony -

Mahler's Resurrection Symphony

The loving God will grant me a little light,

Which will light me into that eternal blissful life!

 

O believe, my heart, O believe:

Nothing to you is lost!

That for which you suffered,

To God will it lead you!

Called to Action

"...I may feel disappointment and the despair may flood high, but to give thanks is an action and rejoice is a verb and these are not mere pulsing emotions.  While I may not always feel joy, God asks me to give thanks in all things, because He knows that the feeling of joy begins in the action of thanksgiving."     Ann Voskamp in One Thousand Gifts (p. 176)

I feel in many ways that I haven't been doing much besides reading, visiting, reading, resting, reading, watching television, and a little bit of walking and sewing these last few weeks.  But then again, when I think of giving thanks as an action, maybe I have been doing more than I thought.  This time of rest is, for me, a time of reflection and time to pause from the racetrack of my life.  And, while the impetus for this all wasn't my first choice, I really feel that I have been able to participate in the action of thanksgiving.  I have been able to see LOTS of positive things about this time.  I have been able to experience LOADS of expressions of love that I can give thanks for.  My mind has been freed of the minutiae of day-to-day living and the constant mental lists of things that need to be done.  I have been freed to see the gifts God gives us every day.  And so I will follow the call to action and practice daily thanksgiving in order to develop and strengthen that habit of the mind and soul.  (And I will take my daily walks outside to strengthen my body, lengthening those as I am able.)

Coming soon: the beginnings of my list of 1000 Gifts - a work in progress

Cancer is so limited.

Cancer is so limited.

Cancer is so limited.....

It cannot cripple Love.

It cannot shatter Hope.

It cannot corrode Faith.

It cannot destroy Peace.

It cannot kill Friendship.

It cannot suppress Memories.

It cannot silence Courage.

It cannot invade the Soul.

It cannot steal Eternal Life.

It cannot conquer the Spirit.

Author Unknown

The Gift of Easter

"When I realize that it is not God who is in my debt but I who am in His great debt, then doesn't all become gift?"  Ann Voskamp in One Thousand Gifts (p. 94)

What more is there to say?  He arose!  He conquered sin and death for us, for me.  The least I can do is live a life of gratitude to Him.  And that is what I seek to do.

                       

God's Faithfulness

I had a chance to finish yet another book today.  This one has been sitting beside my bed for months now (thanks S.B.) and it was now finally read. Here are a few tidbits from Love Him in the Morning: Reflections on God's Faithfulness by John Fischer.

"We typically ask more of a day than it can deliver; so it's rare that we end a day without coming up short on something."  (p. 31)  So I guess that means we have to adjust our expectations or our efforts, depending on the day.  I remember a different quote from somewhere else - something about I was the best me I could be today.  Maybe that's another way to deal with this issue.

"It's in our regret that we throw ourselves at the mercy of God at day's end and receive the love, acceptance, and forgiveness we so desperately need precisely because we haven't lived up to expectations.  This is a daily requirement because sin is a daily condition for which grace is the daily antidote.  Regret reduces us to unconditional love."  (p. 33)  What a beautiful way to end each day really, to bask in the unconditional love of God.

The conversation below is said to be one Corrie TenBoom had with her father.  A conversation during World War 2.  A conversation where Mr. TenBoom wanted to show Corrie to deal with one day at a time.

                         
"Dad, where are the tickets?"

"We're not at the station yet, Corrie."

We're always asking God for tickets out of the things that might be, and that is one request he won't fulfill.  To be caught in the fear of what might happen is to ask God for the ticket too soon. (p. 54)

It sure is challenging to wait until I get to the station before getting the tickets I need.  I'm a planner and like to have things prepared.  I am learning this spring to try to wait until I get to the station. 

"So when you feel the pressure coming, enjoy the Lord."  (p. 56)

"Faith is an action word.  I've heard the term 'faith in action.'  Actually, there is no other faith.  Faith is action.  Even if faith means waiting, exercising it is still an activity - to wait and not worry.  In fact, waiting sometimes makes the greatest demand on faith."    (p. 72)  And so I wait.  And mostly I don't worry as I wait for test results.  Mostly.  But always knowing that I am not alone and that God provides the tickets I need.

Life is Dessert

                      

"When did I stop thinking life was dessert?....It takes a full twenty minutes after your stomach is full for your brain to register satiation.  How long does it take your soul to realize that your life is full?  The slower the living, the greater the sense of fullness and satisfaction.  The body and soul can synchronize." 
Ann Voskamp in One Thousand Gifts (p. 76)

While the main course I have just been served wasn't exactly what I had ordered, I now have time to enjoy the dessert.  I get to live a slower life for the next weeks, having the time to savour and enjoy.  And a great dessert it is. 

The challenge is this.  How do I make this a way of life for myself?  How do I develop the habits and thinking needed to make this automatic for me?  How do I keep from wolfing down my life rather than savouring it?  Because I do believe that this serving of dessert will end and I'll get a new and changed main course of life. 

My prayer is this.   That I learn what is important in this life God has given me.  That I am able to filter out or simplify those things that keep me from savouring this gift of life, this dessert God has given me.  That I learn to savour the dessert.  And the main course, too.

Surprising Gifts

In celebration of gifts, here are three from today.

My Christmas Cactus is blooming.  Not so unusual as it does bloom several times a year.  BUT it's Easter time and the symbolism of my Christmas cactus blooming at Easter blows me away.  Easter is, after all, the fulfillment of Christmas.  The two need each other for the meaning and the gift to be complete.  What a gift.

A week ago, one of my students brought over a blanket that she and her Grandma had made for me.  She had also had the rest of the class put their handprints and names on it - calling it a hug from the class.  How special that gift is.  I sat out on my front step in the sun this morning, with that hug warming my legs.  Absolutely delightful.  Thanks, J.B.

And the third gift was a quilt that arrived via Canada Post yesterday.  A gift from a former student.  What an expression of love and care.  Thanks, E.K.