Harmony!

If you have kept up with my blog posts for any amount of time, you’ll know that the twice daily walks that I take with my dog Fiver, act not only as times of exercise, but also for personal inspiration and revelation.  And yesterday morning… well… it happened again!

I had been watching some old Knight Rider episodes on my Blu-ray player over the weekend and was reminiscing about how much both Piper and I wanted to get her a black Firebird Trans Am, back when that show was popular.  We test drove many cars and even put in an order before deciding it probably wasn’t going to be the best fit for Piper and the needs of our growing family.  Then a few weeks later, we found her a brand-new (literally right off the truck) maroon red, 1983 Pontiac Bonneville wagon (with mags of course)… and the rest is history!

On our walk yesterday, I was not only thinking about that particular adventure, but also of the set of circumstances that opened up the door for us to buy the next two cars that we owned after the Pontiac had brought us many years and many miles of excellent service.

A lot of life had occurred during the ensuing Pontiac years, including job changes, two new churches and a move into a new house.  The 1990’s were winding down and I had just received a big promotion at work, accompanied by a major increase in pay. 

As Fiver and I walked, I mentally reviewed the events that came together at that time, remembered the raise and, without much thought, spoke out “Yeah, that’s right!  My income had tripled with the new position at work…” and before I took another step, a bell went off in my head and I automatically corrected myself and stated, “Our income, not mine!”

Well, I stopped so quickly at that thought, that Fiver’s preoccupation with sniffing was disturbed and he gave me a look that seemed to say “What’s Up?”  His response caused me to laugh but didn’t sway me from my thoughts… and as my gaze absent-mindedly drifted off to some golfers in the distance… I realized that with Piper and I… it was always “WE!”  Then I chuckled again as the term popped into my head and I told Fiver that Piper and I, from the very beginning our relationship in high school, lived in a “Wee World!” and not in a “ME World.”

I would say that we sought to live our lives in HARMONY with one another.  It was the unspoken plan for us and the course we set as our family grew and matured.  Being as we were both musicians (Piper much more skilled and trained than me), we were both very sensitive to any dissonant sounds that played out in life.  

It was one of the first unexpectedly rough experiences that confused and frustrated me when Piper was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  Not only did I have to deal with the notes of dissonance that were occurring in Piper’s physical body, but also with the DISHARMONY that different people, either knowingly or unknowingly, brought into our lives as they attempted to “help” us with what they considered to be “sound advice,” or at other times… just plain criticism.

Jesus told us in Matthew 5:48 to,

“Live in HARMONY with God’s design for life: Be perfect in love, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Remedy) 

In accordance with what Piper and I learned, I believe that Jesus is instructing us in this verse to live a “WEE” (we) life with Christ in all that we do… instead of a “Me” life that is focused on self and leads along a path of fear and selfishness*

Jesus is describing someone who is striving to live their life in an ever-growing HARMONY with God’s perfect design for their life...  which is His design or will, that is clearly detailed in His Word.  The various writers of both the Old and New Testaments make it pretty clear that men and women, boys and girls, were not designed by God to live in this world alone. 

Whether some people like it or not, we were created to have a satisfying life in HARMONY or fellowship with God!  In this regard, I John 2:14 tells us that,

“Your fellowship with God enables you to gain a victory over the Evil One.” (The Message) 

After having supervised within some of the fabrication areas at Hewlett Packard for many years, I now find that I am very sensitive to annoying background noises.  For example, it gets very uncomfortable for me when cooking dinner and running the exhaust fan over the stove, while attempting to watch the news or other programs on TV… and don’t get me started… if that one super-sensitive smoke detector at the peak of the vaulted ceiling should go off! YIKES! (Fiver hates that one too!)

But thank God that there is a solution to solve this problem… I simply don my fancy, noise canceling, wireless stereo headset that lets me enjoy whatever I am listening to without the painful effects of background noise.

In some respects, I think that this is a good example of what happens when we stay in close fellowship with God.  Putting on the stereo headset of His love, His truth, His joy, His peace and His grace, cancels out the disturbing and sometimes hurtful background noises in the world and allows us to not only hear the pure HARMONY of a life in perfect pitch to the tune of God’s design for your life… but also to enjoy it!

So YES!  I would reiterate again, that Piper and I lived in a “Wee World,” where we worked diligently to stay in HARMONY with each other throughout our time together.  But our key to the sustaining sound of that HARMONY was our individual and joint HARMONY with God and the truth of His Word.

I have to admit that one of the main reasons that I enjoy listening to Southern Gospel music is the beautiful HARMONIES that many of the quartets and other artists are known for.  It is comparable to the timber of HARMONY that I like to hear and enjoy in the activities and encounters of my daily life…

How about YOU?

Have a fantastic rest of your week, and as you do, seek to stay in HARMONY with God and keep EXPECTING His BEST in your daily life!

 

 

*See: James 1:25 / Remedy Translation