“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music.
I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”
― Albert Einstein
Music has been a very big part of my life since I was very small.
Growing up, we had multiple pianos in the house, and it wasn't uncommon for us to be playing two of them at once - my Mom and I would play together, my sister would play, I'd play; occasionally, my Dad would even go plunk out a few notes.
We sang constantly; if you asked a question, it was not at all unlikely that the answer would be sung to you. One popular answer would come in the form of an old gospel song,
"No, no, a thousand times, no..."
(The next line of the song says, "Jesus will never say no", but that part usually wasn't relevant to the answer being given at the time.) Old songs would get new words properly fitting the occasion; new songs were made up on the spot. That's just the way we rolled. On our drive to church (3x a week, 45 minutes each way), we'd often pull out a hymnal and sing whatever song we came across - whether we knew it or not.
Music was almost always playing on the radio throughout the day - usually classical or gospel.
Since we were married, my husband and I have sung together; we've been ministers of music at two churches; when we were dating, we went to gospel concerts on our dates.
All this to explain - I think in music.
(Fun Fact: Oddly enough, a large of a role as music plays in our lives, I don't like to have the radio on all the time - I like music, but I don't like noise, and to me, constant background music just becomes more noise in addition to the other noises running around.)
What does this have to do with the title?
If you've ever listened to a symphony, they are divided into parts, called 'movements'. Each movement may seem totally unrelated in mood, but all together they make up a whole, beautiful piece of music.
A symphony is usually played by an orchestra - a group of people committed to making music together. One very necessary part is the conductor.
Without a conductor, you may have a group of very talented musicians, each one well-meaning, but as a whole, they may have trouble playing together, because they have no one to direct them. They may have difficulty staying on time; one may play too loud, another too softly; one might come in too early, another too late. The job of the conductor is to direct, to bring to many parts together as one harmonious whole. When the musicians follow the conductor, it is a lovely thing, indeed. When they don't, you often have a cacophony of ear splitting racket instead of lovely music.
Thinking in musical terms, life is but a song - a symphony - that is being written, one day at a time. Sometimes, the music is happy and cheerful; at other times, the song is sad and melancholy. At times, it seems like it's just a chaotic jumble of notes; sometimes the musicians are out of tune with each other; at other times, it is played out in beautiful harmonies.
In literary terms, the phrase, "to face the music", is usually used to denote someone 'getting what's coming to them', or taking responsibility for their actions.
In this symphony that is my life, it is my goal to always follow the conductor - His name is Jesus.
He is the One the directs my life. If I follow Him, life can be a beautiful thing.
When I don't, things tend to go downhill very quickly.
One day, I will have to 'face the music' and take responsibility for what I have done with my life. I will have to stand before the Conductor - and the Composer of my life's song, God Himself, and I want to be able to come to Him knowing that I played well.
This blog is where I write about the various things that make up the music of my life. Whether it be parenting, crafting, homemaking, ministry, or just writing things that have been on my mind, I hope to always to be good representative of the One that directs my life.
