Dear Reader:

Have you ever wondered what kind of music God loves best? The natural music He put on earth in its creation moves me daily…the sound of a breeze blowing through the trees, a creek gurgling over rocks, birds singing, bees buzzing, or rain pattering on the roof at night, just to name a few.

As far as man-made music…I still remember the first time I heard Handel’s Messiah, especially the Hallelujah Chorus sung at a huge church in Raleigh by traveling musicians from New York when I was about ten years old. It was the first time I understood the expression “shivers down my back” because I experienced just that on a long ago Christmas holiday evening.

I really thought God was going to appear as the chorus kept getting higher and higher on the refrain until I thought I would burst open inside from the sheer joy! I was in a daze all the way home that Christmas evening… stunned…I could only nod when my friend’s mother asked if I enjoyed it. It went so far beyond enjoyment that I couldn’t express it in words.

I wondered, as a child, if God felt the same way when He heard it for the first time. It is unbelievable to me that Handel’s Messiah was completed in 24 days of speedy composition. He wrote it in a little over three weeks? I, also, remember hearing that  at the end of his manuscript Handel wrote the letters “SDG”—Soli Deo Gloria, “To God alone the glory”.

What about music in the heavens…don’t we always think of angels singing a cappella….and definitely harps must be involved…but what else? What are the musical sounds of another world going to sound like? I wonder.

I think God smiles down on most music if it delights us and makes us happy to be around…music we listen to on the way to work and back home….I like all music….country, motown, beach music, rock n’ roll, movie themes, classical…music truly soothes the soul and picks up the joyful heart beat.  God obviously knew, like any Father would, that His children would love the gift of music!

In the following true story below….I discovered that God can use music as a God Wink too…even in a potentially serious situation with a sense of humor.

When God Laughs ( Was the song a sign that God had heard and answered her prayer?)

by Annie Williams

I climbed into my van, aka the Mom Mobile, and headed to the library where I worked evenings. Just on the highway, I got an urge to pray. Please, Lord, don’t let anything hit me!

Why on earth had I prayed that?

Okay, I’m a fearful driver. Highways, lane changes, parallel parking all make me nervous. I always prayed before getting on the road. But this prayer was so specific that I decided not to listen to my audiobook or the radio. I had to be super vigilant.

I came up behind a beat-up pickup. The only other vehicle around. A bunch of two-by-fours was piled in its bed. Every time the truck hit a bump, the wood bounced. I peered closer. Nothing was tied down! No ropes or straps. Nothing.

My prayer! I had to switch lanes. Now!

The moment I swerved left, a two-by-four flew out of the truck. If I hadn’t moved, I could’ve been speared through the windshield.

I took the exit for the library and turned on the radio just as a song came on. Guess what it was?

“Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees!

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

So until tomorrow…

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*(Gardening is easier when I get a little help from my “friend” Winnie (Thanks again Stephanie for the “Gardening Winnie” you brought me back from Disney World a few years back! Adorable!)

*And for me the beauty of nature and music just go hand in hand!

Besides the pretty flowers…the strangest thing…two of the front bushes by the gate have formed a second entrance into the garden…another God Wink I do believe.