By Jane Gardner, presiding evangelist

I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

One of the holy places in my life is with music of all types. In listening and participating in music, my soul is fed. Looking back to when we were confined and online during the COVID pandemic I can see that, for the most part, the music died for me. There was no more:

singing with my worship group.
playing for my worship group.
attending Kansas City Symphony concerts.
going to local high school and middle school productions.

I was relegated to my own piano music and my own voice; helpful, but not the same.

I didn’t realize how dry I was. I was missing that sacred God experience in music that I had known my whole life.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. —Psalm 92:1–4

Post COVID, with excitement, Bob and I prepared to attend our first Kansas City Symphony concert. I knew, of course, that it would be wonderful, but I wasn’t really prepared for what happened. At the first strains of my favorite Gustav Holst’s “The Planets—Jupiter,” my whole body reacted by completely melting. I was filled with emotion. I had goose bumps. There are no words to adequately explain it. There was a releasing of the months and months of desert experience. Tears began to flow. I could feel myself opening. I was HOME. God was there.

This is not only about the blessings I received that night. In retrospect, I have a new understanding of God’s presence even in the desert. I did not notice that the birds were still singing; the earth was vibrating. All of creation was singing God’s music. May this be in our awareness during desert times so we can help others hear the music of creation that surrounds us all.

Prayer Phrase

“…he has given us a new birth into a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3).

Spiritual Practice

Weaving a Life

Hold, or imagine yourself holding, a piece of patterned cloth. Examine it carefully. Notice overlapping threads mingling colors that form the design. Write a journal entry or meditate about the threads and patterns of your life. What design do you see? How does the life pattern you are weaving create justice and wholeness in God’s world? What new pattern is God calling you to weave in 2025?

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.