GOD SINGS, I SING BACK

In Br. Steindl-Rast's book, The Way of Silence, he writes that people often speak of "obedience" to God (and we all know what an utter fail I am there), but he sees it more as, "God sings, and I sing back."

I love that this is a conversation we have with God, except this one is through music. Bishop Barron often speaks of the Trinity as a conversation of love between the three--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I get that.

My question to you is--What is your song to God?

To get your creative juices flowing (no, not another Keebler's Coconut, Chocolate Chip Cookie; no, not a Bloody Mary at 10:00 in the morning either), I am drawing up a list of some of the ways I share my music with our creator, and some of the bits of music I hear back from Her.

MY SONG:

--Making Sourdough Bread for a friend on the FODMAP diet--

--Cooking homemade granola without raisins for my love of 50 years--

--dipping my fingers into holy water to cross myself before church---playing Menotti's opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors and singing lustily with Amahl and his mother as the dog crawls under the bed-

--Meeting a friend for coffee who has battled cancer and surgery and trying to be honest about our lives but also holding out hope--

--Watching maple leaves whirl by in the wind and remembering my young son running to catch some in his hands--

--Seeing four ravens flying overhead and hearing their "cronks"--

--Writing this faith blog.

GOD SINGS BACK:

--A friend calls JUST when I need to hear her cheerful voice and learn that all is ok--

--My brother phones with good health news (you can see that at my age and with cancer liberally sprinkled among family & friends, health news is HUGE for me)--

--The dog does bullet-ass when I come home, my term for her barreling back and forth between couches--

--I hear Sen. Flake's words of integrity and Sen. McCain's brave statements about the corruption in our government, giving me hope--

--I see on FB a photo of my cousin's one year-old baby with a beatific smile (will the Beatific Vision be a bit like this unconditional love, blinding us with beauty?)--

--I experience a moment in church when, with lifted hands, I FEEL in my bones, not just know with my brain, that we are all brothers and sisters, siblings in God--it is all "us" and never,"us/them."

There are many more moments of musical grace, but these are a few. I wish everyone knew that when they smile at a cashier who is rushed bagging our groceries; when we see the inherent dignity of the young man in a hoody pumping gas into our car in the rain; and when we hold open the heavy glass door at the Market for an older lady, we are singing God's song to them.

I think they hear it and store that music in their hearts along with other much-needed good news.