Power in Music

I have been traveling for the past couple of days.  On one of my flights, to block out the sounds of the engines, I was listening to music on my iPod.  I found a playlist called 'Mom" so I chose it, wondering what songs might be part of the list.  They were contemporary Christian songs from probably 2006 and 2007, just after my Walk to Emmaus.  As I listened, I remembered driving in the car with that playlist going, windows rolled down, singing in joy to the music.

Listening to that music again, that I hadn't heard in so long, not only brought back memories, but also echoes of the closeness I felt to God at the time.  Music has power to do that.

In my reunion group, we've talked about how we don't always feel as close to God as we might have in the past.  I've shared that I think our feelings of spirituality ebb and wane, like waves.  And that's OK.  Notice that I have used the word "feel" pretty often in this post.  I don't think we will "feel" close to God all the time, but that doesn't mean that we aren't close to God, or that God isn't close to us.  It is a gift at times to recognize that the veil is thinner.  Even so, during times when God's presence isn't felt, we can know that God is near.

Even so, we are not pingpong balls floating on the ocean.  We have the capacity to open ourselves up to God, and to be ready for God-encounters.  How do we do that?  There are many spiritual disciples that we can do, and they are called disciplines, I think, because we are to do them even when we don't feel like it.  Think of the word discipline as translating to "routine."

How does that relate to music?  It might be that if you are looking to have a few moments of "feeling" close to God, you might want to listen to music that has been part of your spiritual moments in the past.  Like the scent of baking bread, those songs have the power to trigger memories and feelings from higher worship moments in the past.  Secondly, listen to music that you haven't heard before, or that you don't associate with those moments - yet.  See if the music itself can draw the experience of God closer.

Music has power.

*The playlist was called "mom" because one of my sons, probably Grant, set it up for me because I didn't yet know anything about iTunes.