What a Divine Gift

One of the many reasons I have for the existence of God is music.  Think about it!  Music is amazing! I know, I know, that sounds so cliche coming from me.  I understand.  But really — think about it. Beyond the unbelievable perfection of intervals (except the trichord — aptly named “devil’s interval”), patterns of scale degrees, and the mathematics of time signatures, somehow humans have still been able to 

Jenny Shotwell

universally put it all together in seemingly limitless ways … and I find it undeniably divine.

Music is like a flower. How does it exist in such perfection . . . over and over and over again in nature?  There’s a song I sang in a church a year or so ago called “Why Flowers” by Allen Levi and the premise of the song is just that:

“I well can understand why He would give us bread and water,
why He would give us coats to keep us warm.
    I well can understand that by some sense of obligation
He would give us shelter from the storm.
    But why the many colors that fill our eyes with wonder,
why the sounds of music that stir our hearts to tears?
    Unless he is a happy God full of joy and full of beauty?
    Why seasons, why sunsets, why flowers?”
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Why music? Why the ability for a collection of frequencies put together in some mathematical fashion we have all organized collectively to move us to tears? To hit just the right mood when we’re feeling happy, to lift our spirits when we’re feeling down, to deliver exactly the right message deep into souls when nothing else can? It’s amazing. I could go on and on.

A few weeks ago we drove over to Seattle to see one of my all-time favorite artists — Billy Joel! I think he is a spectacular song writer. I’ve always been drawn to those artists who not only write great music but fully embody it. His concert, of course, was awesome. What it must feel like to sing so comfortably in front of sixty thousand people! He seemed to barely blink an eye -- that’s a pretty unique perspective he has!

I have to say though, my favorite part of the concert was not just him but being among a fully-packed stadium all singing in unison to “Piano Man” and others. It was amazing! We all collectively knew this song and our differences became irrelevant along with all the little things that drove us crazy that day, and all the arguments … instead we sang a song — together. What a crazy thing.

What a gift.

I can find no other reason for a spectacular argument for not only God, but a God that is exceptionally loving and so beautiful that it almost hurts. Music is a slip behind the curtain. A chance to see and deeply feel the love of God in the most unique and, I believe, closest ways.

What a divine gift.

​In His Name, Jenny