Musical Notes by Melinda
Music Director - Melinda Wood Allen
Holy, Holy, Holy
Holy is the alarm clock that wakes me into a new morning. Holy is the coffee pot that starts itself and has its aromatic elixir waiting for me. Holy are the books I read that center me and prepare me to do God’s will today. Holy are the cats who let me know their needs in their native tongue-- loud and easy to understand. Holy are the dogs, jumping with joy just to be near me. Holy is the shower, pouring clean, clear, hot water over me. Holy the clothing which covers me. Holy is the vehicle that brings me safely to work. Holy is the stereo which serenades me with music on my ride. Holy are the people I pass (or who pass me)…some with a “good morning” smile, some with scowls or even curses. Holy is the desk at which I sit to do what is mine to do today…holy are you…holy am I…
I have long made a practice of writing a “gratitude list,” to bring me into a fuller awareness of how blessed I am even on my “worst” days. It works—even when I write it grudgingly. In honesty I HAVE to admit how many blessings there are in my life.
Lately, I’ve one-upped my gratitude list to see how my world might change if, instead of just being grateful, I daily acknowledge the very sacredness—the holiness--of all of life. I start with my mundane daily routine and move out into the wider community, over which I can have absolutely no illusion of control. (Even at home I don’t have actual control—just the illusion.) I’ve only been doing it a couple of weeks, and it is changing my world. I have long known that everything and everyone is a sacred, beloved creation of God—but this observance is helping me to practice that sacredness.
And, no, it’s not making me airy-fairy or making me forget or ignore all the pain that is in the world. It’s actually keeping me lighter, yet more sensitive, readier to surrender and more prone to see the humor in things. I just spent a week with a friend who lost her husband to a cruel and gruesome disease, and I was able to be truly present with her in her pain, knowing that even her pain is sacred, and though it is hers alone to bear, she is not alone.
God is working in my life…it’s been that way all along, but when I make a practice of actively acknowledging it, new worlds of serenity and joy open to me. Blessings on you.
Melinda
“…Sunday we would go to church/ And pay attention to the priest/ And he would read the holy word/ And consecrate the holy bread/ And everyone would kneel and bow / Today the only difference is/ Everything is holy now…”
-Peter Mayer, from the song, “Holy Now”
