Yesterday we made a trip to the cabin. It was a beautiful day, but in the middle of the afternoon, it all went awry. I laid down to take a catnap before driving home and started sneezing. My nose was stuffy, runny, and sneezy the rest of the night. It was a small battle driving home. I took a couple of allergy pills before bed and it seemed to clear up a little sometime during the night. I was in a stupor when I got up from the allergy pills, but did my best to function. We made it to church and even to the symphony. Today’s program included “The Planets” by Gustav Holst. I had been preparing and looking forward to listening to this piece. I remembered hearing it at home as a child. Earlier in the week, my mom’s friend brought over a description of each “planet” that she used while teaching music lessons. My brother played the music while we read the description which has seven movements:

Mars, the Bringer of War
Venus, the Bringer of Peace
Mercury, the Winged Messenger
Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age
Uranus, the Magician
Neptune, the Mystic

It was written before Pluto was discovered. The dynamics were terrific from super loud to super soft, from fast and boisterous to barely a sound. Towards the finale, a choir off stage chimed in with ethereal tones. In fact, the concert ended with the orchestra fading out completely leaving only the voices. As they slowly hushed into complete silence, no one moved. The conductor was still, the orchestra was frozen, and everyone in the audience was holding their breath. I don’t know how long it lasted until finally the conductor dropped his arms. The audience jumped to their feet in applause. It was an amazing concert and experience and I am so grateful that I felt well enough to participate.

I Found God today feeling well enough to enjoy an anticipated concert.