So Wags The World Away

In my opinion, there are two sorts of people who listen to classical music: those who are naturally calm and sedate, and those who need to be. I fall into the latter class, as anyone who knows me will tell you. My mind races, that's the bottom line. But all that racing in my brain takes its toll on my body: I struggle with insomnia, tense muscles, headaches, TMJ, and blood pressure that seems to be ever-so-slightly higher every time I see my doctor. I believe that at the root of this problem is a lack of trust in God's arms to save and keep me. The Bible is chock full of promises that The Lord is my provider, my refuge, my strong tower, the Prince of Peace, the calm in the midst of my personal storm. Burying that truth so deeply in my spirit that it is as much a reality as dirty dishes is my goal. As I work toward total surrender of my cares to Jesus, I take steps to alleviate the physical symptoms of my spiritual problem.

My newest anti-stress tool: classical music. Listening to it in the car makes me feel like I'm in a Bronte novel. The heroine, of course. My heart rate slows, my breathing is deeper and slower, the kids even calm down. It's great. The classical station I listen to is Classic FM and I've opened an account with them so I can use their My Classic FM option and listen while I'm surfing the internet or reading. (The only problem with listening online is when I go to a site that has music playing. Then I'm forced to choose. Earlier in the week when I came across Tea With Tiffany, I chose her music over mine. Check it out, you may decide to do what I did and stay on her page just for some beautiful worship music!)

Listening to classical music is new for me. I used to see it as something old people listened to. Wow; have I changed... or maybe I just got old. Still, it's change for me. But as I look over my life, I'm surprised at all the changes that have overtaken me.

For example, yesterday found me sitting in a little old coffee shop in a small English town, eating a traditional English breakfast and sipping tea. As I sat there, across from Tim, it occurred to me how differently our lives have turned out, so far. We've gone from starry-eyed high school kids to an old married, world-traveling military couple with four kids and two mini-vans. The only things left of our former- or imagined future- lives is the things of our heart; the dreams we had that stemmed from the gifts God gave us. I still want to write, Tim still wants to play and record music. We still love our friends and family, even more so than we did in our youth.

The point of this post? We change. We stay the same. We grow. We move to the wrong side of the world. Tim's beloved hair starts to fall out. I take up listening to Yo Yo Ma. So wags the world away.

posted by Reese