Thank you to all who responded to yesterday's post! I saw truth in all of your comments. Ultimately, yesterday I didn't see beauty. I lost my temper with my kids, had some major disappointments during the day, and let resentment take hold of me.
But this morning, I began my day with music. Not just listening to music, but intentionally hearing, playing and singing songs that would provide me with a way to sing about beauty I couldn't quite see yet. I asked God to come near as I let my heart be softened by beautiful music and my mind be instructed by truthful lyrics. I guess in Christianese this is called "worship". I have not taken this blog in any specific spiritual direction, mostly to appeal to a wide variety of readers. But honestly, as a Christian, I have to be true to the experience I had.
And I spent some time in worship.
I wasn't lifting my hands or speaking in tongues. (And I'm not saying that to put those practices down.) I just sang and asked God to help me believe the words, things like "You are my strength when I am weak"; "Rejoice, Emmanuel will come to thee"; and "He'll move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call".
I can't say I felt too different after my morning in song. But I did have a more peaceful day with my family. Some could argue that this was the calm after yesterday's storm. Or it was Saturday and I had a morning to myself.
Whatever really happened, I am thankful for God always being willing to be sought after, even if it is in desperation and little faith. And believe me, I have little faith. But God can take my little faith and still do great things. My decision to seek Him instead of escape into fiction or Facebook this morning set the tone for my day and made a difference. And it was beautiful, in a non-Earth-shattering way.
We can find peace when we sit with our Lord! He knows we have moments of frustration and fits of anger, and meditation with his words (especially thru music) is healing for sure!
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