Archive for October, 2008

Angels

{ October 26, 2008 @ 10:41 am } · { Musings }
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Angels show up in the strangest of places.

 

It’s true. The group Skillet hit the nail on the head there. But I think that angels don’t always look like we think they might.

 

An angel is a messenger from God, sent to minister to someone (Hebrews 1:14). If that’s so, then:

  • It’s the faithful best friend who always gives you a ride to work, always offers a shoulder to cry on, and puts up with you, even when you’ve had way too much caffeine
  • It’s the classmate who talks the professor into extending the deadline on that paper you were struggling to get done
  • It’s the coworker who always steps in to help out on the days you’re so stressed and tired you don’t know how you’ll finish
  • It’s the friend who shows up out of the blue and buys you lunch “just because”
  • It’s the choir buddy who plots with you to make a documentary on how the conductor compares the choristers to galley slaves on a Viking ship while working on rhythm
  • It’s the little girl who’s always glad to see you and likes to fix your hair in all kinds of fanciful ways
  • It’s the random guy who strikes up a conversation with you and challenges your thinking, making it stronger
  • It’s the mentor who’ll listen to all your crazy problems and never makes you feel stupid for getting into them in the first place
  • It’s the friend who’s always a “walk-by encourager”, even though you know he’s in a rough spot, too
  • It’s the guy who always seems to know when you’re having the worst days, so he deliberately comes over to talk to you, making you feel beautiful, strong, and valued
  • It’s the little kid who draws pictures for you
  • It’s the class buddy who made it through Speech class with, was there for you on the days you seriously wanted to drop the class, housed you during an ice storm, and even refrained from taking you out in your sleep, regardless of the whole “Pirates vs. Ninjas” thing
  • It’s the friend who’ll tell you when she’s practicing in the music building, then listen to your crazy problems and give you her advice on the matter, all to a background of harp music
  • It’s the friend who’s always there with a hug and a smile, who challenges your thinking and makes you feel brave, but at the same time protected, who, even when you’ve been hurt by him, will still stick around and talk it out
  • It’s the friend who makes you laugh and laughs with you over all the crazy stuff life throws at you
  • It’s the friend who’s just so sweet you want to be around her no matter what, who inspires you

All these folks are just some of the angels I’ve seen around me. There are plenty more! Who are your angels?

Harmony

{ October 9, 2008 @ 1:19 pm } · { Musings }
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Lately I’ve been thinking about the idea of harmony. What a metaphor.

 

There are few sounds in life sweeter than perfect harmony. Just check this out:

 

“Steal Away”, from Celtic Thunder: the Show

 

In Romans 12:16, Paul uses the metaphor of harmony to describe how we should live with one another:

16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.

 

But here’s the problem: most folks in general don’t know how to produce harmony. The don’t teach you that in kindergarten. You might learn how to sing a specific harmony for a specific song, but most folks don’t up and take a music theory class for kicks. So how is harmony made? There are a few major points about harmony that I think carry over into life.

 

  1. Harmony can’t be accomplished alone. Each of us has only one voice. Harmony needs at least two voices! Similarly, we need each other. We weren’t made to live alone, we were made to live with fellowship and community.
  2. Harmony is not all the same. If voices are going to sing in harmony, they can’t sing exactly the same thing–that’s unison. Similarly, we are all different and can’t expect to be able to do all the same things. We have different gifts, or sing different parts, as it were. Which leads to the next point:
  3. Not everyone can sing the melody. Again, that’s not harmony. That’s unison. In typical four part chorus writing, the altos and tenors tend to get “boring” parts, often staying on the same note for a very long time, without the extravagant skips and scales of the basses or the ornaments and grand leaps of the melody, usually sung by the sopranos. But a chorus with only sopranos and basses can’t produce the full, rich sound of a four part chorus. The altos and tenors are needed! All the voices are.
  4. Leave room for descants and canon sections. Not everyone is in the same place at the same time. Some of us come in earlier, and some later; some sing different words; some alternate with other voices. We don’t all sing at the same time.

For some reason, we don’t seem to get this in life. But they’re things I’ve come to realise in life. So try it. Cooperate and live in community. Sing your part, and realise that it’s not always the melody. And don’t judge someone else for coming in “too late”–that might be their part!