A friend gave me wind chimes for my birthday. With each breath of air the chimes reverberate and soothe with enchanting harmonies. My friend works for a hospice and told me the following story when I opened the gift: At a recent meeting of hospice staff, a social worker shared an insight from her pastor. He recalled a terrible storm brewing many years ago that was foreshadowed by an ominous green sky. After bringing all the animals and plants inside, he noticed a sound. The whipping wind was stirring resting wind chimes into song. It occurred to him that even in the most terrifying storm, there is still music. As soon as the social worker finished her story, a gruff doctor at the staff meeting interjected: "I just visited a 46-year-old woman dying of cancer. She has a ten-year-old son. Tell me, where's the music in that?" Across the table, a grizzled, old nurse with a raspy voice and unkempt hair, one whose very appearance exuded cynicism, immediately responded: "Doctor, you are the music."
After telling this story, my friend then said to me, "Whether you find yourself in happy times or in a terrible storm, may these chimes remind you that there is always music within you and around you."
What's the music inside that sustains you?
Where is there an opportunity for you to be life-giving music?