Spiritual Percussion

Early yesterday morning I stepped outside my husband's and my apartment door onto our wooden porch and across a patch of ground between our place and our parents'.  We've had snow on and off for the past couple of weeks leaving not a lot of accumulation over that time frame, but enough to keep about 1" of ice/snow mixed together on the ground.  As I walked across the crispy wintry mixture I enjoyed the texture of the crunch under my feet.  I also noticed something I never had before- the sound of my somewhat rhythmic steps making a light percussion-type sound which vibrated into the frosty morning air.  The resonance reminded me of the sounds of my son's High School Marching Band's percussion section as they kept up the energy and spirits of the fans on the sidelines of the varsity football games.  My little walk across that little patch of ground was a moment of simple enjoyment at the touch of God's creation as He interfaced it with my life.

This morning I went over to my mom's to help her get her medications and to have breakfast with her.  Every Thursday morning our dad heads out to have breakfast with his "RODEO" club (Retired Old Guys Eating Out).   They have a great time together and it gives my dad a little break from the fatigue that can set in from the daily routine of helping my mom deal with the suffering caused by dementia.

My mom has been a great witness in my life of the faithfulness of our God, so it was a sweet time with her sharing in His Word and enjoying her company while her memory holds strong enough to remember who I am and how much she loves me.  The devotional which she read for the two of us was entitled "Rudimentary Meditation".  My ears perked up as the author started his passage by referring to drums.  It immediately brought to my mind my early morning "percussion walk" with God the day before.  Andrew Rogers, the author wrote:

I started playing the drums in high school. At first, I taught myself to play by listening to my favorite albums and trying to mimic what I heard. Later, I went to college and studied music, choosing percussion instruments as my academic focus. I quickly learned that to grow as a drummer, I needed to develop basic patterns and to use them in a repeated, consistent fashion. When mastered, these patterns--the rudiments--subtly appear in a drummer's repertoire and improve performance of any song.

http://www.upperroom.org/Devotional/

At the table that morning with mom I had a moment of His clarity.  As Christians, God's Spirit within us is our heartbeat- our percussion.  As He grows us in our relationship with Him, he gives us tools, touches us and gives us practice to help us along the way.  We listen.  We mimic. We study. We grow, developing basic patterns in our relationship with Him.  He is the Master, the Giver, the Conductor.  His percussion in us is like the beating of our hearts.  Each beat in and of itself seems like not much.  But together the beats are the song of His life in Ours-a song which resonates within us, vitalizing us and giving energy and spirit to us and to those He puts into step around us.   

All the Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated the Passover (Feast of Unraised Bread) for seven days, celebrated exuberantly. The Levites and priests praised God day after day, filling the air with praise sounds of percussion and brass. Hezekiah commended the Levites for the superb way in which they had led the people in the worship of God.  2 Chronicles 30: 21-22 (The Message)