Wonder

Every year I take my students to the symphony. All 1st through 6th graders. Some wear suits, some wear uniforms, some flower girls dresses...we get on a bus and go downtown to listen to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra play at Hilbert Circle Theater.

Every year I wonder how they hear the music...what they think while sitting in oversize theater chairs straining to see over the person's head in front of them. I wonder what the 1st grade students are experiencing being that most of them have never been in such an environment.

At church last night I think I may have gotten a glimpse of the thought processes of a first time symphony attender. As the pastor was preaching about Revelation (the infamous book from the Bible about the end of the world) he went into a metaphor between the symphony and the nations. He spoke in detail about sitting at the top of Hilbert Circle and watching the musicians "play their instruments," about the crowd erupting in applause for the "first chair," about the tuning where the first chair plays a note and then everyone plays it as well...and how that is like the world. Chaos brought in tune.

I caught the message of the sermon, but it left me with perspective about my students and how I believe God wants us to live.

We spend a good three weeks preparing for the symphony. We go over the instrument sounds, listen to excerpts of the performances we will hear, review vocabulary, and talk about being "music critics" and the kinds of words we should use to describe our experience.

But in the end, they sound a lot like my pastor. There are an incredible amount of incorrect terms used to discuss what they liked, didn't like, and thought of the performance. They use unsophisticated language to express their opinions and impressions.

But, like my pastor, they are passionate about these thoughts, opinions, and experiences. They are struck by the extremes of the symphony-how incredibly loud and powerful unified voices can be, but also how sweet, quiet, and sensitively they express themselves.

In all honesty, I can get really annoyed and feel like a failure of a teacher in moments like this. But listening to my pastor last night and watching his face light up with passion and excitement over his symphony experience, I realized I am missing the point both as a teacher and as a child of God.

My students may not use the correct terms, but they are awestruck and in complete wonder at the symphony. They are empowered. They feel worthy and like real people in real society. They love going to the symphony.

Shouldn't we be the same when experience a new power of the Lord? Shouldn't we stand in awe of what He has done and is doing? Shouldn't we be amazed at his power, might, and love? And shouldn't this lead us to be passionate about our experiences-even if we don't know exactly the correct terms?

peace.