A Night at the Symphony

All dressed up, you walk into the symphony hall. The musicians are warming up. It sounds like chaos. Just noise. Like a seventh grade band hall. All these different instruments belting out their different sounds. Yuck. You know, based on the price of the tickets, that these are very talented musicians. Based on the sounds reaching your ears, it's pretty hard to believe.

Then all is quiet and respectful as the director enters the stage. With the strokes of his wand, the music begins again. Only this time it is transformed. It is breath-taking, beautiful, and you are swept away into the experience.

The musicians haven't changed. Their talents haven't changed. The collection of diverse instruments hasn't changed. The only change is that they are now all under the direction of one man. One man who knows each individual part and how to pull them all together.

The contrast is so striking. It reminds me of each of us doing our own thing, our own "instrument", being very talented at it even....but what a mess we make as individuals. Chaos, really, hard to believe anything good can come of it. Until we come under the direction of Someone who sees the big picture. Someone who can take our little part and coordinate it with others doing their little part on the other side of the stage...or the world. From chaos to beauty and the only thing that changes is we all choose to follow the direction of our Creator.

Back to the symphony, where the piece has just finished. The soloist curtsies as the audience applauds. She was unbelievable, amazing, entrancing. She exits the stage, but is brought back out for another curtsy by the applause of the audience. The audience stands and cheers in appreciation and amazement of her skill.

Truly, the soloist at the symphony we attended this weekend was amazing! My thought as the room erupted in applause was how much greater are the works of God. What if a crowd of people this large spontaneously erupted with applause at works of His hands? What if we weren't afraid to be this bold, this boisterous, this energetic in our appreciation of Him?

It is true: every little thing from dishes to laundry can be a spiritual moment and an opportunity to rest in the presence of God. Some activities, like motherhood and gardening, lend themselves to an unstoppable flow of spiritual lessons. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that attending the symphony was also a deeply spiritual experience. What a blessed evening!