Rejuvenate moments

(An unfinished post from December 2014)

On my way driving to church this past Sunday, I was navigating the radio station looking for some church-y music to put me in the mood for the service. I skipped over a few Christmas tunes and then suddenly felt a need to stop at the sound of a crystalline tone. Stopped in my tracks by not contemporary worship or choral praise songs but by beautifully contemplative sounds of a familiar piano solo. I had come into the late middle half of a performance of Robert Schumann's Waldszenen (forest scenes), op. 82, specifically Vogel als Prophet (bird as prophet) performed by Christoph Eschenbach (who is noted in my mind as primarily a conductor but is beginning to make me more curious about his piano recordings). Something unexpected happened. I was drawn in not just to listen but to enjoy what I was hearing. It has been awhile since I've been refreshed in that way.

--- May we allow God to isolate us, but I do not mean the isolation of a monastery. It is in the experience of isolation that the Lord develops an independence of life and of faith so that the soul no longer depends on the continual help, prayers, faith, and care of others. The assistance and inspiration from others are necessary, and they have a place in a Christian's development, but at times they can actually become a hindrance to a person's faith and welfare.

God knows how to change our circumstances in order to isolate us. And once we yield to Him and He takes us through an experience of isolation, we are no longer dependent upon those around us, although we still love them as much as before. Then we realize that He has done a new work within us and that the wings of our soul have learned to soar in loftier air.
-Streams in the Desert