heavenly peace

This past February to August I was a caregiver to the sweetest girl named Grace, and she has cerebral palsy. She is definitely one of the brightest and bravest 12-year olds I know and I was so sad when I had to leave that job. Grace also has a beautiful voice along with her older sisters and they all sing in EVMCO. I remember taking her to choir practice and I've never heard children sing that before. Sadly I missed that concert but I managed to get tickets to their Christmas concert in the very middle back row. Tyler thought it was the best view in the theater and I couldn't agree more. 

I can't even describe how amazing it was. I actually cried while they sang Silent Night and Allelujah. I'm a lover of music and it's moments like those that I live for. It brought me back to being in an orchestra and how it felt to be apart of something so inspiring to me. That I could make beautiful music with the violas and the cellos and the bass and how perfectly it all sounded together. But what made me cry was the beauty of what that music was about. I felt the love of Christ so strong and my testimony grew a little because I knew that there were heavenly choirs singing when he was born and I was given a taste of what it must have sounded like. 

One of my favorite songs was The Holly and The Ivy which I had never heard of and it dates back 1000 years. The director talked about the true doctrine of the song and how perfectly it tells the story.  

The holly and the ivy,

When they are both full grown

Of all the trees that are in the wood

The holly bears the crown

O the rising of the sun

And the running of the deer

The playing of the merry organ

Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a blossom

As white as lily flower

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

To be our sweet Saviour

O the rising of the sun

And the running of the deer

The playing of the merry organ

Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a berry

As red as any blood

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

To do poor sinners good

O the rising of the sun

And the running of the deer

The playing of the merry organ

Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a prickle

As sharp as any thorn;

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

On Christmas Day in the morn.

O the rising of the sun

And the running of the deer

The playing of the merry organ

Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a bark

As bitter as any gall;

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

For to redeem us all.

O the rising of the sun

And the running of the deer

The playing of the merry organ

Sweet singing of the choir

The holly and the ivy

Now both are full well grown,

Of all the trees that are in the wood,

The holly bears the crown.

O the rising of the sun

And the running of the deer

The playing of the merry organ

Sweet singing of the choir

Another favorite was Alleluia by Eric Whitacre. It was literally nine minutes of "alleluia" but it was by far the prettiest piece of the night. 

I of course got to see Grace and her family and they were all smiles. I missed them so much! Grace made me laugh because she just kept saying how tired she but she looked cute as ever! Her and her family are the nicest people you will ever meet and I wish I knew more families like that.

The funny thing is I don't think Tyler was as excited to go to the performance as I was and I kind of dragged him to it. He was not expecting to love it as much as he did and told me it was the best concert he had ever been to (apparently he's been to a lot of plays and I didn't know that). I am so grateful I married someone with an appreciation for the art of music otherwise I don't know what I would do. 

The title of the concert was called Heavenly Peace and the director said that they take the name very seriously. He said that it sends a message to not only the performers but to us. I thought about the meaning of that phrase and about the birth of Christ and what better way to describe it all than Heavenly Peace. Lately I've been so aware of all the evil and wickedness in the world and I know that it will always be there. But even in these times we can on this Earth find Heavenly Peace because of Him.