I recently read the story of a concert violinist who broke a string in the middle of his performance.  Rather than stopping to replace the string, he continued to play, modulating and shifting around his three remaining strings, improvising along with the orchestra who continued to play behind him, finding his way to a solo that was haunting and beautiful and wholly unexpected. He finished and the audience was silent with astonishment.  Into the silence he quietly said, “Sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can make with what you have left.”

I believe that advice applies to all of us, perhaps now more than ever.  This year has handed us so many issues with which to deal.  I think most of us can relate to the toll this year has taken.  The anxiety of Covid 19 alone is enough. Then we add in the worry of ongoing medical issues, the strain of the media’s constant reporting of all the negative in the world, the trauma of the wildfires in the west, and the stress of division in our country. It seems at times we are only functioning on two strings of our violins, not even three like the concert violinist in the story.  What are we to do?

The words of the violinist make perfect sense.  We are the artists of our own lives and we need to make the best of what we do have. We too have to modulate and shift our lives to move forward in this time of apprehension.  Things are not normal for us and we are improvising how we can live in these disquieting times, taking care of ourselves and others less fortunate.  How do we do this?

We call on the Lord and his unconditional love and concern for us to carry us through.  He will help us to cope with the unease 2022 has brought to us and will guide us in the way to make the most of what we do have left.  The song “The Prayer” from Quest for Camelot is perfect for us today and always.

I pray you’ll be our eyes, and watch us where we go, and help us to be wise in times when we don’t know.  Let this be our prayer, when we lose our way.  Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace to a place where we’ll be safe.

Amen

Patty

Adapted from October 2020