The Music is Playing

"Next to theology I give to music the highest place and honor. Music is the art of the prophets, the only art that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has give us."

Martin Luther (1483-1546)

Jerry must be happy! The music is playing. Joy is filling the air.

The new year has brought to my attention that I'm not as happy as I could be. I'm still adjusting to life without mother in our home and the six years brought a lot of stress to us. It may have been a devotion I read that helped me know I wanted to change. I don't remember. But I do remember that I wanted to be happier.

I always listened to CDs when driving back and forth to work. I loved singing the songs, being encouraged by the words and inspired by the music. That didn't carry over to home. I haven't played music in the house for many years.

But the music is now playing. We purchased most of the Gaither Homecoming DVDs over the years, and with your purchase you received a CD of the show. Mostly, the CDs have just sat in our home. But the other week I went downstairs and brought them up. I plugged the player in the dining room where I sew. And I've been playing them most mornings.

I've loved singing along, smiling and feeling good while they played. And Jerry has commented a number of times about how much he is enjoying listening to them.

It seems like a small thing, but, as most of us know, small things can be very important. Small things can change a life. I know. Mine was changed. I received one written note, so many years ago, and it changed my life. That's why I've been so diligent in my calling of writing notes.

The telephone call . . . the quick hello . . . the warm hug . . . the caring heart--small things that make a big difference.

"Small things" caused me to remember a favorite story I've told often when I spoke to a group about note writing. It's the January 7th devotion in the original Streams In the Desert and it talks about a heart's-ease. I didn't know what a heart's-ease was the first time I read it and had to look it up. A heart's-ease is a wild European pansy which typically has purple and yellow flowers. It has given rise to hybrids from which most garden pansies were developed. Following is an abbreviated form of the writing:



"The story goes of a king who went into his garden one morning and found everything withered and dying. He then went about the garden asking each tree and flower what the problem was. They each answered saying they wanted to be something else: the oak tree wanted to be tall and beautiful like the pine.  The pine tree wanted to bear grapes like the vine. The vine wanted as fine fruit as the peach tree. And so on all through the garden.

Then the king came upon a heart's-ease and found its bright face lifted as cheery as ever. So he asked it why it wasn't disheartened like all the other plants. The heart'-ease answered: 'I'm not of much account, but I thought that if you wanted an oak, or a pine, or a peach tree, or a lilac, you would have planted one; but as I knew you wanted a heart's-ease, I am determined to be the best little heart's-ease that I can.'"

Small things matter. And if what God gave you to do is small, do it with all your heart. You may never know the difference you have made to another's heart, but you can be sure, if you gave out of love, you made a difference.

That's why I've been making these Valentine pillows to give away. Something small. But to another heart, it could be something big. I have a few more to do before the calendar says February.

Yes, the music is playing. Joy is filling the air. And I'm happier. Is your music playing?

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

Berthold Auerbach (1812-1882)