... LISTENING FOR DISCORDS...

    The concert master signals one instrument section, and each instrumentalist will play the note, crisp and clear, for her to hear. She listens carefully for any discord. When she is satisfied, she moves to the next section and repeats the process.  She does not hurry the proceeding, and each instrument is in tune when she is finished. When she is satisfied that the whole orchestra is precisely tuned, she takes a seat in the orchestra. A hush again falls on the scene until the door opens again and the conductor enters....

   In the shadowy recesses of my memory, I can hear the deep resonance of the church bell ringing as the song leader gives the beginning note of the hymn on a bright Sunday morning as we assemble to worship. He blows on the pitch-pipe and hums the note, and the congregation begins softly and reverently singing the words:

Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land;

I am weak, but thou art mighty, Hold me with thy pow'rful hand ;

Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more;

Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more.

~~Thomas Hastings

  The voices swell in volume and richness as the hymn progresses, ending with a heartfelt roundness that reverberates in my young heart; and I know that there is a Guide to Whom others trust their lives, and I feel safe and secure in the warmth of trust. As I grow and experience life, I sometimes forget to trust the Great Guide. I take matters of life into my own hands, only to discover that I have made a mistake. I experience that discord in my life that could only be adjusted by stopping to tune my instrument to the unfailing 'A' in life. This takes time and humility. The concert master will not move to the next section until all instruments are correctly tuned. Sometimes I have impatiently wanted to reach the 'next level' in life, but God keeps me where I am until I have learned all He desires for me to learn at that moment. Learning cannot take place until I accept the facts that I am facing, and I leave those things in the powerful Hands of the Great Jehovah. It is then that I can anticipate the entrance of the Great Conductor of life...

The fourth assignment: Listen for any discord. Fine tune your life by placing all, without any reservations, in the Hands of the Great Conductor. This takes time and inward examination. Give everything into His Hands, and rest in the trust that He will be faithful in all things.

 

Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments.

Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful. 

~~Psalm 119: 137, 138





 



 

 

 

THE CONCERT MASTER

The lights dim and the orchestra becomes silent. An expectant hush falls over the hall, and the eyes of all the symphony members will be fixed on the door. The door will open, and the concert master will enter carrying a violin. The chamber will erupt into applause as the members of the orchestra and the audience greet her. She bows to acknowledge the honor shown to her, but she immediately turns to the orchestra and raises her arm. The orchestra is now as one entity, its attention focused on the concert master. She points her bow to the oboe, and it sounds an 'A' note...

Proper tuning cannot take place when there is a cacophony of sound, and the first challenge is often found in the accomplishment of quietness. As the orchestra hushes eminent to the entrance of the concert master, so our hearts and spirits must be hushed before the Concert Master will enter. It was a challenge to find quietness when I had young children, and I would sometimes take them to a play area in a park or a mall and find a comfortable seat where I could relax and 'regroup.' As my children became less dependent upon me, I faced other demands in my life; and these demands became more complex. I found that it was harder to quiet my spirit when the confusion and disturbance was within myself. I like to 'make sense of things,' and this always leads to unanswered questions. Many circumstances and decisions in life seem to be random and not easily understood. Friends hurt and die, our loved ones face things that are unfair or don't make sense; and we question the meaning of life. It is time for us to find a quiet place and reconfirm our faith in God and in God's wisdom that is far above our finite knowledge. We need to examine and to validate our commitment to God as the One Who is all-wise and loving. Failure to find quietness in these circumstances will fling us into doubt and bitterness. When struggling with life and its issues, it is right to seek God's peace within our hearts. It is right to ask God for His peace.

I have a memory indelibly impressed in my mind when our family had been involved in an automobile accident. There were some injuries, though none of them were serious. When I would try to sleep at night, my mind and emotions would relive the scene and recreate circumstances, often taunting me by adding gruesome and horrible details of what could have taken place. After some sleepless nights and troubled days, I tired of the churning feeling deep within my spirit, and I simply asked God to give me peace in place of the turmoil. A fiery orange sunrise was just beginning as I felt the peace begin in my spirit, and I never struggled with the scene again. Life has brought many sleepless nights and troubled days, and I have called upon the concert master to quiet my spirit so that I could tune to Him.

Third Assignment: Seek peace deep within your troubled spirit so that you can tune to the Master.

QUIET...HUSH

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend

Thro' thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: the waves and wind still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

The first fragmented but melodious sounds in the orchestra become a cacophony of sounds that assault the ears of the listeners. Sometimes life has a few 'bumps,' and we can smile and take the uncomfortable pressure. Then family issues surface-parents begin to age, the sickness of a child or a spouse, changes in employment and interpersonal clashes, and the list goes on endlessly. Finanacial pressures emerge-mounting bills, job changes, family changes, housing changes, transportation needs, health changes, and changes in the economy of our country. Relationships evolve, and hurts and loneliness come with the change. The little disharmonies in our lives come forward, and our minds whirl constantly, trying to grasp, accept, or find solutions. There is no quietness, even in the stillness of the long, torturous nights. This is the moment of need: the moment that we seek to find quietness before our whirling mind explodes inside our heads and we shatter. Where can we find the quietness and hush that our souls need to survive?

Second Assignment: Dim the glaring lights, Quiet the din inside your heart and head.

Learn to genuinely turn everything over to God. Learn to trust Him. Sometimes I ask God to help me trust, and then I find a time and place to be alone and quiet my heart before Him. His Word has brought solace many times, and reading the hymns of trust from the past help my heart to feel trust and quietness. I bring to mind the times in the past when God has brought peace and harmony to my soul when it has felt churned and troubled, and this leads me to trust Him again.

Psalm 16: 7-11

I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel; my reins also instruct me in the nght seasons.

I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell: neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Psalm 27:1-6

The LORD is my light and my salvaton; whom shall fear? the LORD is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flash, they stumbled and fell.

Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear, though war should rise aginst me, in this will I be confident.

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion; in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me, therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

IN ANTICIPATION OF THE CONCERT MASTER

As the hour of the concert draws near, the orchestra members will begin to gather on the stage. Each member will bring his own instrument in which he is skilled, tune it carefully, and quietly play sections of the piece before him to 'warm up.' The sounds drift out to the waiting audience, and each player plays anything he chooses. The resulting sounds are disconnected from the rest of the instruments, discordant, and clashing. The beginning quiet sounds of dissonant music swell to a cacophonus assault to the ears as more and more orchestra members join the fray. Occasionally, a harmonious melody will come forward to be heard for a moment before the discordant instruments are heard again. Suddenly, the lights will dim and the orchestra will become silent. An expectant hush will fall over the hall, and the eyes of each of the symphony members will be fixed on the door... Life can become a series of distractions and calls from varied directions for our attention, and it can become disturbing and confusing. I have often felt swept down life's river like a canoeist who has lost his paddle. I have no control over circumstances, and I struggle to stay upright as I am swept swiftly along. I cannot change circumstances, but I try to apply the Serenity Prayer to accept the unchangeable and make the best of life as I cling voraciously to what I can find to hold. I seek silence, and the dimming of the glaring lights of reality so that I can focus my eyes on the door in expectation of the Concert Master.

FIRST ASSIGNMENT: Seek and attain silence, and allow the glaring lights of reality to dim.

Find a way to still your troubled spirit-find a quiet spot, play soft music, drink a cup of tea or a good cup of coffee, read God's Word, read a gentle book, watch a baby play, work in a garden, watch birds. Try to empty your mind of all troubling thoughts-fill your mind with thoughts of pleasant things in life. Make this a daily habit, at the least.

ASSIGNMENTS IN LIFE

I have loved the arts and music since I was very young, but I never had the wonderful privilege of attending a symphony in concert until my children were teenagers and a friends invited me to share the pleasure of a concert with her. After that first conert, I recognized that I had not been enjoying one of the most beautiful gift given to humans-the gift of a Symphony in concert. I emerged from the concert hall as if in a dream, and the aura of it lingered with me for days. A well-executed concert can transport the listener until she is absorbed in the rise and fall of the music, the plaethora of emotions, the irresistible call of the instruments as they call to the delighted audience and to each other to come and join their skipping and spinning and dancing. The deep melancholy of the bass meld with the measured bleats of the wind section as the percussion instruments measure the rhythms with resonant exactness. Sometimes the cello players will emerge from the medley of the music to blend a deep strength of melody while the flutes chirp and the oboes contribute their depth, and they merge with the playful, light notes of the violin sections as they carry the orchestra into the depths of the music. Occasionally the beauty of a harp will dance lightly out of the piece for a few measures before merging again with the whole beauty of the harmony.

Our youngest daughter had a desire when very young to learn to play a violin, and she immersed herself into her music. We attended her musical events, starting with her early recitals, and on into her symphony concerts. While attending concerts in which she contributed her musical talent, I noted a variety of lessons that clearly illustrate life as we know it. At this juncture, I was also struggling to understand and embrace some of life's lessons myself. I was impressed with how the symphonies, as well as the concerts that they played, clarified certain important areas in our lives. First, I note that we have certain special Assignments in Life, and I will share these assignments with you. The next assignments are specific to the Conductor and the Concert Master, and the first lesson is In Anticipation of the Concert Master.