Name That Sonata…

God's Janie Sonata

Are you musically challenged? Are you asking, “What in the world is a sonata?” For all you non-music people, Dictionary.com says the word sonata is a noun and defines it as “a composition for one or two instruments, typically in three or four movements in contrasted forms and keys.”¹ Are you still scratching your head?

Most of you can probably name this sonata without even looking at the title: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seVwETicKss. Just click ~ don’t peek at the title on the YouTube page! Did you get it right? Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Did you know it’s only Movement 1 of three movements?  In music language (Italian), it is called Adagio sostenuto meaning slow and sustained. It has a mournfully lamenting sound. The other two movements are nothing like the first one. Movement 2 (Allegretto meaning “light, graceful, and moderately fast”²) is light and cheerful. Movement 3, aptly named Presto agitato, is stormy and frantic.

Do these descriptions sound like seasons of your life? They definitely illustrate various times of mine. I often find that when I think one  stage of my life is over, it’s “theme” suddenly pops back up again. When I went through the death of my husband, mourning and lamenting became repeated sounds day after day. It was a slow and sustained point in my life that I thought would never end. However, a time came when that season transitioned to a more light and cheerful one. Then, in 2003, I moved to China to teach English as a Second Language. There I felt strongly the intensity created by adjusting to a new culture and lifestyle away from family and friends ~ often fast and agitated! Upon my return, I moved into another time of mourning when my mom took her final breath. Oh yes, I have visited and revisited these “movements” that define my life and will most like do so many more times be my life’s Fine.

I recently read this statement by Charles Spurgeon, “Every pain is a tutor to praise, for it teaches us how to play on all the keys of our humanity until a complete harmony…is achieved.”³ My immediate prayer became: “Lord, make my life a beautiful sonata of praise to You! Let the sustained and mournful times of my life show Your presence and bring comfort to someone who is mourning. Reveal Yourself in the light and graceful moments of my life in order to bring Your joy and laughter to someone needing to be encouraged. And in the frantic and stormy moments of life, let me not display frustration or anger. Instead, may I cry out to You to bring peace to my storm-tossed life giving others the confidence to call out to You as well.”

What music is He writing with your life? Are you letting Him be the composer or are you snatching the pen from His hand and writing your own? What will your sonata be called?

The name of the sonata of my life?  “God’s Janie Sonata”  After all, He writes the most beautiful music of all! ♫