J O Y !

"Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world". Martin Luther.

I think it must be a universal truth.
There are moments, when you've had a bad week, or are in the midst of trials, when suddenly, your entire nature lifts because you hear a particular song or melody which carries you out of the gloom and into a truly better place.

That's why, at least in part, I suspect, that certain pieces become favourites to us - they're tied to moments or times that are significant or special in our lives, and they're often bursting with words or themes that lift us, touching us at our deepest point.

I recall, for example, a moment in 2004 when life was truly falling apart - my wife was in a hospice, my future looked truly empty, and I was totally uncertain about where to go. I believe I was in a car with a friend when I heard Natasha Bedingfield's song, "Unwritten" for the first time. It was like an arrow to my heart. I was staring at a blank page, a dark window - I needed the Sun (the Son) to illuminate the broken thing that was my life.
As I sought to pick up the pieces in the year that followed loosing Kay, that song would motivate me to move forward.

It's so often the way that songs and other joys that matter arrive as gifts into our lives.

Yesterday, I was searching around for some music for an art video I was completing, when suddenly, boom, a whole set of videos came up of a favourite group, but from an album that was entirely new to me... what revels were mine for the next hour as I sat and listened to each track, delighting in songs which dripped with beauty and grace.

Just look at these lyrics to see what I mean...

You're a treasure no one opened, you're that diamond no one found,
There's no casual liaison when your heart is in the clouds,
Could have been your bit of style, could have been your bit of grace,
Could have been the way the starlight played upon your face,
Starlight played upon your face.

Moonlight, be a friend tonight,
We're all wrecked up on these dreams, holding on a bit too tight,
Well, I've got splinters from these moonbeams,
If it seems I'm falling down,
If it seems we're falling through,
Darling, you know that is nothing,
You know that is nothing new.

Look at me with longing eyes and I will always know the score,
Say the words I long to hear and I won't need them anymore,
If this moment seems forever, there are some things you don't waste,
If it's a little bit of God, then come in here and have a... come in here and have a taste.

Moonlight, be a friend tonight,
We're all wrecked up on these dreams, holding on a bit too tight,
Well, I've got splinters from these moonbeams,
If it seems I'm falling down,
If it seems we're falling through,
Darling, you know that is nothing,
You know that is nothing new.

You and me could build a bridge over every place that hurts,
Time to tear the walls down hard, 'cause they never really worked,
And if the first words start to stumble and sound slightly out of tune,
It's the opening of hearts, it is the closing of... closing of the deepest wounds.

Moonlight, be a friend tonight,
We're all wrecked up on these dreams, holding on a bit too tight,
Well, I've got splinters from these moonbeams,
If it seems I'm falling down,
If it seems we're falling through,
Darling, you know that is nothing,
Darling, you know that is nothing,
Darling, you know that is nothing,
You know that is nothing new.

Darling, that is nothing new,
Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing,
That is nothing new,
Darling, darling,
That is nothing new.

From You Know That by the Vigilantes of Love.

It may be that today, life is hard, or circumstances ahead look so dark and troubling, you're not sure where to look or how to go on. Perhaps there's a song that can cause you to look further than the winter of our hearts and our often painful lives to remind you there is richer things, and there is a care beyond our current pain.

The days now so often seem to be about our being seeded into death (presumably because of our broken natures), but we can know that the warmth and ravishing love of a lasting life, a better wine, is breathing close upon the wind.

The Gospel brings us home, and music often softens the journey there.