IF you still don't know about Five Minute Friday, come on over to Kate's linkup and find out why I've been a part of it for over a year!
Haven: a place of refuge. An escape.
I could easily make a joke about being a mother and how the bathroom is a temporary haven. You close the door for a moment's peace.
But, I really did take this one a little deeper and pondered what I really consider a haven. What do I need when I'm overwhelmed? What refuge do I seek? Where or what is my haven?
It's music.
Music soothes me. Music moves me. I am made of music. You'll often catch me humming, unaware that it's audible, or perhaps I want to share my songs. I was given some awful news and asked to pray in mid-April. That day, I did not want to sing. I had no song, but I longed to hear a song that would comfort me. "I will exalt you" was my anthem.
In the middle of something unfathomable, a tragic loss for a friend and a young life gone much sooner than anybody thought, I was clinging to God's Sovereignty.
When we need to run, remember this Proverb. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run in to it, and they are saved." (Proverbs 18:10)
If we are running from our problems, but not running to God, we're running away from the real haven.
For me, He speaks to me through music. So does every other spirit in the world. I'm so careful to look at lyrics and sense the peace brought or disrupted with music.
My girls may not be current with the popular songs, but we are in this world and not of it. It's not to say the musician has to be on the Christian labels, but that I am careful which messengers are bringing their words and hearts into our house. I pray daily for His peace in my home.
-Tammy
P.S. please give me your URL or linkup number in the comments or I can't find you among the 90 some that post each week! :D
Music is a powerful haven, I agree! It has the power to transform moods, emotions and the atmosphere so quickly.
ReplyDelete(I'm at #15 this week xx)
Emma,
Deleteyour haven would be a total haven for me as well. I didn't enjoy coffee (other than the aroma of the beans in the grocery store) until after having children. Now I savor each delicious drop.
Thank you for coming and finding me!
Love,
Tammy
Visiting from FMF, right after you.
ReplyDeleteMusic has also been the greatest source of healing and reminder of God's truth and presence for me.
And yes, running to God, that is indeed the best place to go... where the truth is, where the healing is. :)
http://seekingbeyond.weebly.com/ramblings-and-musings/healing-in-the-haven
Angela,
DeleteI'm so grateful to be next to you this week! Your post was delightful.
It's oh so wonderful to all have that same haven in our hearts! And the fellowship here on FMF is just the beginning of our haven in Heaven!
Love,
Tammy
I totally agree about music being a haven. There are so many songs I can associate with particular times in my life when God has spoken through them to comfort me or lead me forward. (#37)
ReplyDeleteCarly,
Deleteoh I am so glad for you. And yes, those times where the perfect song has come on the radio, or on social media-He is always speaking to us!
He speaks to me through you, telling me I'm not alone in my struggles. Thank you for being my friend.
Love,
Tammy
Great song from Hillsong!
ReplyDeleteMusic is not really a haven to me; some anthems have helped me through tough days, but generally I'm a bit past the point where I can identify with anything beyond setting one foot in front of the other, to just keep going.
But 'Yellow Submarine' always helps. So does Feeder's "Buck Rogers".
#2 at FMF
http://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2016/06/your-dying-spouse-163-saving-strawberry.html
Andrew,
Deleteat this point, I cannot know but I will accept your telling. I still wonder if you can have a moment of sheer marvel here and there-like a solitary note after a grand sounding of the brass...a soft, almost whisper that penetrates the darkness.
I'm imagining the Star Spangled Banner.
Just when Francis Scott Key had thought perhaps we'd lost, he hears the mortar, sees by the very dim red glare of the rockets-a small movement.
As the dawn breaks, and more and more light arises, that small, faintest glimmer of hope bursts into the grandest triumph of them all. "Oh Say Does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave? O'er the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave!"
And in this moment, I am praying for your one foot in front of the other. It's instrumental music that would speak to me if I was not much for words. Beethoven, Chopin, most of the Classic and Romantic music. I'm not as big in the Baroque Era, though Bach had some marvelous works!
thank you for your service, and thank you for continuing in His service, though it's been so hard for you!
Love,
Tammy
Music can be a haven for me too. We sang the hymn "My Life Flows on in Endless Song" in worship today. As I read your post, it reminded me of its words. I'm over in the #8 spot this week.
ReplyDeleteTara,
ReplyDeleteI had never heard that song before. Thank you. I found a very interesting youtube video. :)
I commented back on yours. You brought to mind "How Great Thou Art".
Love you!
-Tammy