Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Music Soothes the Mortal Soul

It has been a little while since I have wrote, not sure why but I just didn’t want to write something just to write it.  As most of you know I am very fond of music (to put it mildly) In high school I spent hours and hours driving around listening to it and all kinds of it, from Rock and Roll to Rap.  Not only did I listen to it but I memorized a lot about it.  The name of the groups, the story behind the song, and much more.  Music was my life. Well here I am over 20 years out of high school and music is still my life.  As anyone can tell you that has been around me lately, I still know music, and of course 80s music especially.  I can tell you what the very first video was on MTV ( Video killed the Radio star, by the Buggles)  I can tell you that Bye, Bye Miss American Pie was a song about Buddy Holly’s death and that Don McLean got to the point where he would not sing it because that was the only song he wrote that people wanted him to do. (He has since changed his mind).  I can tell you that the hit by the Eagles “Take it easy” was written by (At least started by) Jackson Browne and he couldn’t finish it so he gave it to Glen Frye of the Eagles and said finish it.  (It became one of their top songs)  I wont bore you with all the rest floating around in my mind (Which is probably why I can’t remember important things) but as you can tell music is still a very large portion of my life more than 20 years later.  The thing now is, the songs have started changing. About 8 years ago or so, I started going to a church where my Pastor now was music minister.  It had been a long time since I had picked up my bass guitar to play anything as it is not really fun to play bass guitar by yourself.  Somehow we got on to the subject and Dean and several others said that I should start playing again.  Well, unsure about it, Dean said just come to practice and play when you are ready to play.  It was not much longer, I was playing with the worship band at that church.  I stank then, and am not much better now, but it was a worshipful experience for me.  So I have continued playing and still do so at Northridge.  After being diagnosed with the brain tumor, things have changed a lot for me again with the music.  The words have been really speaking to me in many of the songs we do.   The reason why is that I am paying attention to the words and a lot of times, the Lord is speaking directly to me through that song.  For example one we have done recently is 10,000 reasons.  Here is the last verse:
And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore”

This so much speaks to my soul.  To know that even after 10,000 years of praising our God, that will be just a short time in eternity standing before the throne of God praising him.  We really can’t even fathom that since our lives are so tied to time.  I still enjoy the occasional rock song, but I have focused on listening to Christian music that pleases the Lord.  I don’t think everyone should go out and burn all their Justin Bieber CDs (Well maybe those you could ) but I think that listening to music that praises our God certainly will help you lift your spirits and in turn  maybe you will be exited about praising him.  Not that I want to leave yet, I cannot wait until I am standing in front of God and at the right hand , Jesus and with all my being praising them.  Picture that the next time you are at church and are singing Amazing Grace if you are old school or How Great is our God  if you are new school.  Close you eyes and focus on the Lord and focus on praising Him with your all.