"We'll stay in touch!"

How many times have we said, "Hey, let's stay in touch!"? What friends did we mean to stay connected to, who have drifted out of our lives?

Sometimes God surprises us with the joy of reconnection.

This morning, I had the privilege of seeing someone for the first time in 10 years. She and her husband moved to the Great Lakes area for ministry ... soon after I left music ministry to train women in ministry at the church. We had played piano and organ together at Overlake Christian Church for years, alternating Sundays on piano.

Connie was that "fabulous choir pianist" every conductor craves: she could play any score. Poor Roy, the orchestra pastor: I often need complex music ahead of time to play what was on the page. (My eyes and fingers drift apart when my ears hear the music. I can play anything by ear but it's better to nail down the notes in advance if the music is complex.)

We had such fun chatting, catching up on families, on ministry, and this stage of life. Then we pulled out Dave Morgan's old chorus book and started our duet. We played through the entire book, some choruses more successfully than others. We laughed and kept going when missing chords or figuring out the old rhythms. And we worshipped.

Music touches the heart. The gift of familiarity and friendship, given and received through conversation and songs of praise, comforted and encouraged me this morning. I think it did the same for Connie.

So how do you reconnect?

1. Seize the moment. I met my friend's husband Tom at a meeting. He told me they recently moved back to town.
2. Be willing to initiate a meeting. I wrote an invitation to Connie, "Want to reconnect?"
3. Accept whatever the answer is: yes or no to renewing an acquaintance. Not everyone wants to connect again. Connie called back and was happy to meet.
4. Set a date. A vague, "Let's meet sometime" will rarely materialize.
5. Enjoy God's provision together. Be open to whatever comes your way, whether that's looking forward or back together. We had time to talk but also to minister to each other with music.
6. Trust God for the future. We prayed together before parting. And we're planning to meet with a larger group of women from OCC in the New Year.

I'm thinking back on the morning with a glad heart. God gifted me with a visit from someone who has played the music I remember but haven't touched for over a decade. Our fingers climbed and laughed over the keys in old familiar patterns and long-forgotten ways.

God is good! And we've become the "old hymn" ladies. HAHA Who knew!

Read more:
*I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:3

*May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 NIv 

*Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:1

Moravian Prayer: Lord, we know you are our Savior. Help us to grow in our faith to understand what it means that we are saved. Let us share that message and grow in numbers. Amen.

Praise the everlasting King!

Culture inundates us with sounds, sights, textures, tastes, smells. Western noise floods every sense with diversions that keep us from meditating on God and his ways. I suggested to a young friend that hymns might help soothe him when he has trouble sleeping.

"Don't think so! I hate hymns," he replied. "They drive me crazy, like a busy Bach piece or random jazz. There's too much going on." Many people without a background in traditional Protestant churches or classical music would agree.

When W and I lived in Cambridge, UK, we enjoyed Evensong at the various colleges. On debate trips to the UK, students and I attend Evensong sung by one of the exceptional university choirs of Oxford or Cambridge as a cultural experience. Students and I sit with other tourists near the choir and reader, on hard benches facing the center aisle in cold, dark chapels. The music washes over us. Old and New Testament readings pour into the shadows between songs. Responsive readings from the Book of Common Prayer echo against stone walls. The discomfort of non-religious or world religious adherents is obvious:  the Word, prayers, and music direct attention without apology to the living God and his expectations. I am always astonished at the indifference of the singers as they pour the tones into the air. They pass along Living Water without sipping it or drinking deeply themselves.

The music and lyrics of Evensong, written to glorify God, have been sung for decades or centuries, reminding us of God's faithful provision and constancy. I love the thick growls of the pipe organ that buzz and rumble through soles to scalp. The occasional bleat of an oboe or keening cry of the trumpet accompaniment gives me goose-bumps. The pure voices of young boys soar into the rafters, their innocent clarity and white choir robes denying sneaky shoves in the foyer before the preteens marched into the chapel. 

I hope my young friend engages in worship within his own culture. My prayer is that he seeks out meaningful words, melodies, rhythms, and harmonies written by his peers, opening his heart to be drawn into God's presence. 

Anyone desperate for well-sung, beautifully written hymns can enjoy old and new favorites online. UCB Media plays hymns at 7-9am Sundays (Greenwich time), and streams British and American "inspirational" worship music without commercials the rest of the week. (Another option is saturation in scripture as it's read aloud on UCB's "Bible" station.) 

Whatever else we do today, let's take time to praise the Everlasting King! 

Read more:
*Praise the LORD!
        
         Praise God in His sanctuary;
         Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
        
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
         Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
        
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
         Praise Him with the lute and harp!
Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
         Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
         Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
        
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
        
         Praise the LORD! (Psalm 150)