A song for your soul

Hello,

So I have just returned from a 9 hour shift at Hallmark. I didn't know someone could last 9 hours in a Hallmark store, but they can... and I did. There were a few crazy things that happened there today. I will briefly describe a few so you can understand the kind of people there are in this world.

A) A middle-aged, seemingly non-verbal, man with downsyndrome walked in off the sidewalk, made a few laps around our store while shouting some unintelligible phrase that sounded like "Art Logs", and walked right out.

B) The gossip columnist for the local paper, commonly known as the "Red Hat Lady", came in (proudly wearing the Red Hat) and spent almost four hundred dollars on cards and promotional items, but refused to buy a picture frame I suggested for a wedding gift due to the fact that the family in all the pictures was African American. I quote... "They are still fighting segregation in the South, ya know? I'm a Yankee, True-breed!"

C) A nicely dressed woman, pushing 40, came in and purchased a few Hallmark Keepsake ornaments. After purchasing her items, she walked up to our Jingle Pals display (the singing ones on the commercial with the old man) and turned each one of them on, turned, and walked out the door.

Anyway, that was the comedic segment of today's entry. Now onto the real deal. As you may have guessed by today's title, I want to talk about music. Shocking, Im sure ;) On the drive home from work today, I was listening to the local Christian Radio station. 95.5 has chosen to play all Christmas music all the time till the Holiday, and upon hearing a pretty schmultzy "heart of the holiday"type song, my eyes filled with tears. That kinda creeped me out, because I am not one to cry much at all and especially not at schmultzy "heart of the holiday" type songs. Anyway, it got me thinking about how much music really has an effect on my emotions, my soul. All throughout my life I have identified with music. In 8th grade, Alanis Morrisette seemed to know exactly how I felt with her power ballad Perfect from the Jagged Little Pill album. Sophomore year, Jewel knew the bittersweetness of 16 year old "love" with Foolish Games and I still talk about how Sara Groves can sing my heart far greater than I ever could. Some people find themselves in film, some in literature, but I find my heart, I find myself in song. Socrates once said, "when the soul hears music, it drops its best guard." That, for me, is one of the best descriptions of the power that music has. With song, it is possible to open a door in the heart of the listener and once inside, it can beautify. Sometimes, in my sessions, I ask my clients what they feel like after participating in an up-beat sing-along or playing along with 50's rock-n-roll. Once, after listening to a classical piece an older man responded "I felt like I was flying". Now, although I'm not 100% what he meant, his answer is yet another illustration of the power of song. Music has the power to transport us, to take us to a different place. I couldn't even count the number of times that, in the midst of worry or loneliness, a certain song has lifted me to a better place. Although those are two inherent assets of music, the miracle that takes my breath away daily is the connection music can give our hearts with Christ. That connection is what makes the other miracles of music possible. The healing you feel as you sing with your Wednesday night youth group or the all-encompassing joy that freely flows between the four walls of the chapel on Sunday mornings. THAT is the real miracle of music and THAT is a miracle that I couldn't be more thankful for.

"You are the music while the music lasts" T.S. Elliot

Goodnight,
Tempa