Music – A Life of Simple Joys

Finding Joy in Seasons of Grief

Throughout the weeks of Lent I spent the first minutes of each morning before lit candles and a cup of coffee with a simple, yet profound, book in my lap: The Promise of Lent Devotional-A 40 day Journey Toward the Miracle of Easter by Chris Tiegreen.

I remember well the day I purchased it. It was displayed on a table in our local Lifeway Christian Bookstore, next to a devotional based on the writing of C.S. Lewis. Now, being a proud Rabbit Room member and lover of all things British, my first instinct was to grab the writings of Mr. Lewis, call it a no-brainer, and head to the checkout counter. But something about that little purple book by an author of whom I had never heard with a golden crown of thorns gracing the otherwise plain cover caused me to pause and pick it up. I flipped to the devotional for Day 1 and knew, immediately, that this was the one I was supposed to have. With my apologies to C.S. Lewis, I bought the little purple book and dove in, day by day, as Lent marched me forward to the Cross.

God is so good. With each day and every page, I was reminded of simple truths, known in my mind but often forgotten in the heat of the moment. (You may have seen some of the quotes I shared on Instagram and Facebook throughout the 40 days of Lent.) Truths such as these:

You are called to celebrate the revelation of the coming kingdom long before you see it. Your new citizenship is far more glorious than your old.
Those moments of crisis are a mark of all good fiction, and they are also a mark of God’s best stories.
The world says, “How dare you call me sinful?” and stays enslaved. We say, “Yes, I am that and more,” and are set free.
The dawn is most beautiful after the darkest of nights.
The ways of the world have to surrender to the decrees of the insistently, stubbornly, relentlessly faithful.

And then this sentence…on Good Friday as the beautiful strains of Andrew Peterson’s new album, Resurrection Letters, Volume 1, washed over me and brought me into a beautiful place of worship…”Friday is not the end of the story.”

Is it Friday in your life, where you are, today? Are you standing at the foot of a cross, dreams shattered and heart broken, in disbelief? Are you caught up in a storm, not of your own choosing, and tossed about on a sea of tears? Finding joy in those seasons can be difficult, if not impossible. How do you find joy in sickness, death (whether of a loved one or of a dream), a rebellious child, an adulterous husband, or poverty? How do you see the “good” in the very, very bad?

There was nothing “good” on Good Friday. To all outward appearances the Son of God ended up just being an innocent man murdered on a cross between two thieves. Everyone who had believed in him walked away disappointed and afraid. Their hope was gone. The words he had spoken to prepare them for this day had pooled into a jumbled mess of confusion in the back of their grief-stricken and panicked minds. There was nothing for which to be thankful.

Nothing.

But what they could not see was the other side of the veil. Their earthly eyes, blinded by tears and worry, were not attuned to the hum of voices and the drumbeat of Heaven building up into a cadence of victorious joy that would burst through on the morning of the third day when the dead body of Jesus suddenly drew a deep breath and sat up, unwrapped the grave clothes that bound Him in death, watched the light of the morning sun break through as the angel rolled the stone away and walked clean out of that tomb.

It may be Friday in your life, and right now there is nothing good about that. But will you choose to hope? Will you cry out to the Father along with me, “I believe, help my unbelief?” And can you rest on Saturday, just as our Savior rested, knowing that Sunday is coming? Resurrection is coming?

He will make the joy so worth the pain. It’s a promise.

Friday is not the end of the story.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4

If You Lack a Mentor: In Gratitude to Sally Clarkson

As a now “older mom” among many of my friends, I found myself in an odd and often lonely season of motherhood. It is so easy to make friends when our kids are little. Playdates at the park or story times at the library are the perfect conditions for forming friendships around the common experience of mothering. But there comes a time when the kids grow up and our day-to-day interactions with them vary to such a degree from what others around us may be experiencing that mothering can no longer be an easy common ground from which a friendship can spring. The friendships are based on other things. Good things. But not necessarily common parenting styles (or outcomes!).

Then there was the realization that, as an “older mom,” I lacked a mentor for myself…someone who has weathered the storms and walked through the hardships that are the reality of raising children to adulthood. The lack was not out of desire to have one, but out of the practical nature of my life these days…finding time to sit and chat over coffee is difficult to do. Homeschooling four children, parenting five, shuffling kids to ball practice, dance, music, youth group, doctors’ appointments, etc (and carving out time to practice my cello!) consume my daytime hours very quickly. Then factor in the reality that we recently moved into a new neighborhood in a new town and, well, building a mentoring relationship just takes time. Time that I haven’t had.

Do you relate to this?

Enter Sally Clarkson.

I had heard of her for a couple of years and knew she had homeschooled her children ALL THE WAY THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL. Nothing less than a heroic feat, in my book. Because teenagers.

Anyway, I began to listen to her podcast, “At Home with Sally” and in this older woman, who I have never met, I found what I needed.

A mentor.

Sally raised four children who all turned out to be amazing, gifted adults that love Jesus and love their mama. But that is not why I love her. I love Sally because what she did was not easy. Learning disabilities, mental illness, tragedy and hardship were all part of her story of mothering. She is honest about those things, honest about her failures and successes. She looks back through the lens of experience and wisdom and gently reminds us that, though there are things we can do to foster life in our homes, above all our kids belong to the Lord and we can trust Him with them. Somehow, in her quiet voice, she speaks loudly into my flaws and struggles, encouraging me to not let failure prevent me from taking the next step, or from loving when it is hard. She has taught me that much of my tension comes from being highly idealistic, which is not a bad thing but can certainly be frustrating to certain members of my family. Ahem. She models selflessness and faith and the gift of hospitality as a form of worship. She reminds me to light candles and warm up the pancake syrup because those little things speak into the hearts of my children and draw them close. In the difficult seasons of my life, Sally reminds me to hope and to never, ever give up. God uses broken vessels.

I’m most definitely a cracked pot in His Kingdom!

I don’t know if you have a mentor. I certainly hope you do. But if that is something you wish for I would love to introduce you to Sally. She doesn’t know me, has no idea this little corner of the internet even exists, but I feel that so many of my friends would benefit from letting her speak truth as we drive our kids to appointments or get ready in the mornings. Nothing can replace real-life relationships and face-to-face conversation, but someone like Sally has filled a much-needed gap in my life. And while my “real” friendships grow and develop I feel that what I am learning from her will serve me well as I move forward into this next phase of life. I will share the links below. I receive nothing for this. It is purely out of a desire to bless you that I share Sally Clarkson with you.

Life With Sally – a membership site worth every penny. https://lifewithsally.com/

Whole Heart Ministries – helping Christian parents raise wholehearted children. wholeheart.org

At Home with Sally and Friends – if you do nothing else, subscribe to this. I anticipate each new episode every week, listening to many of them over and over. Rich with stories, hope and encouragement, Sally’s gentle voice is always calming to my often fretting heart. http://sallyclarkson.com/podcast/

That time I bought a Cello.

For most of my life, really…as far back as I can remember…I have dreamed of playing a stringed instrument. Violin, guitar, what-have-you, they all have seemed so beautiful and unreachable to me. Growing up, I played piano and clarinet. Strings were not an option at my school. But, for the past couple of years, I have found myself fantasizing about playing Cello. We would go to concerts and I would be drawn to the cellists, the sound of the instrument, the grace of the bow, the posture of the musicians. As an alto vocally, the Cello spoke to me because it is always that steady low voice that stabilizes the chord. Though often not in the spotlight singing lead, when it does take center stage…wow.

So last week we went to another concert and I watched a young bass player named Scott Mulvahill ROCK OUT. I mean, really. Who would have thought a standing bass could do what he makes it do? But it does and he obviously has so much fun on that stage. (Look him up on YouTube. He is amazing!)

We drove home after the concert and I mulled over my feelings and longings once again. I’m 45, y’all. Not exactly a young thang anymore. Many might think I’m too old to start something big and new.

I decided to disagree with that.

Early the next morning I drove to a music store in a daze of mid-life crisis and desperate longing. I parked my Ford Explorer and looked at the doors of Music & Arts, the sign saying “open” and my heart racing. I summoned up my courage, walked into the store and looked at the young man who greeted me.

Deep breath.

“I’d like to rent a Cello.” (Did I really just say that out loud?)

“Is this for you?” he asked kindly.

I am probably old enough to be his mother.

I swallowed hard and broke out into a cold sweat. A COLD SWEAT. I am not exaggerating ONE BIT.

“Yes,” I said calmly. “Yes, it is. I’m having a mid-life crisis and I want to learn to play the Cello.” (Yes, I really said that. Insert forehead smack here.)

He smiled (I can only IMAGINE what he was thinking) and said, “Ok, well…”

And we proceeded to look around, discussing lesson options and logistics. Then it turned out that they had a beautiful Cello ON SALE and buying (instead of renting) would save me thousands of dollars over the course of the next few years so…

Y’all.

I BOUGHT IT.

I bought, not rented, a cello.

At 45.

It was like saying, “I do. Til death do us part.”

But with a bow instead of a diamond.

I own the baby and it is MINE.

The salesman tuned it for me and put it in its case. I looked at it longingly, afraid to even touch it just yet. It is just so beautiful. And it is mine.

MINE.

I set up the payment plan and bought a beginner book and tuner, though I didn’t know the first thing about tuning a Cello. (What were the names of the strings again?) I carried it to my car and willed myself to breathe normally as I drove home, completely shocked at what I had just done.

But now?

Oh, glory. The moment I pulled Sofia out of her case (Yes, I named my Cello. Don’t judge.) I felt this JOY course through my veins. I pulled the bow across the strings and, despite the scratchiness, to me it sounded beautiful…like something I had waited my entire life to hear. The vibrations that resonate through the Cello when it is leaned back against my chest as I play are like balm. They calm me despite the fumbling and hiccups as I learn to hold the bow and draw it straight across the strings. I have found a teacher (Sarah Joy) via YouTube and practice every single day, loving each and every minute of it. My fingertips are becoming calloused and the sound is coming along.

I can play Mary Had a Little Lamb!

And Jingle Bells!

There is something so satisfying and rewarding about working through that beginner book and the videos one day at a time. It is in enjoying the process, seeing progress from day-to-day, that I have hope to be making real music a year from now. (Does this NOT have endless spiritual parallels???) Maybe over the summer I’ll take lessons from a real, face-to-face teacher when we are not in the throes of homeschooling. But regardless, I love it.

I absolutely love it.

Listen, you are never too old to try something new. I’m realizing that it is really good for my children to see me do this, to hear my squeaks and squawks and see me fight to create beauty through this challenging instrument. And it’s good for me. I had this dream and it wasn’t going anywhere. I believe God wants this for me and I could not be more excited. I’m praying for Him to give me the ability to do this and do it well for His glory. What a gift it would be to sit near the back of the stage during worship, accompanying the beautiful choruses with the melancholy alto of my Cello! That is my goal.

I’m 45 years old and just beginning. By the time I am 50 I’ll be so glad I didn’t wait any longer.

What are YOU waiting for? What keeps you from plunging in and going for it? What if you started today? Now?

Because, let me tell you, every time I take that bow in my hand I feel JOY. Pure, simple joy.

It is going to be a good journey. I can feel it.