January 17

“Harmony is the inner cadence of contentment we feel when the melody of life is in tune......As we bring the principles of gratitude, simplicity, and order into our lives, harmony emerges.” Sarah Ban Breathnach, SA, 1/17

The melody of life.........I have a little musical training--some by teachers, some self-taught.  I don’t know enough to be able to share it with others, but I do have enough to appreciate what it takes to be a good musician.  So when she speaks of the melody of life I feel I can safely say that if a piece has any life to it at all it is an expression of what is in the musician’s heart.  I’m sure some music is written or performed from a mechanical stand point and may very well be why so much of it today is just noise.  But when a piece penetrates your outer exterior and stirs an emotion within, you know the composer’s and performer’s hearts were involved in its creation.  I see our Life in Christ in the same way.  The harmony in our lives is directly related to what’s in our hearts.  It’s only as we allow His “peace” to penetrate our exterior that we will truly experience His “heart”.  And the way we allow His peace to penetrate is to not become “mechanical” (i.e., legalistic) in our relationship with Him.  It is through prayer--that two-way conversation God desires--that we begin to develop this relationship.

“Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication and thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6,7