Broken Glass, Music Found

22. November 2007 by BruceSmith.

Happy Thanksgiving.

I am spending the holiday with family in the mountains of Colorado. It is a beautiful place, and yet, a place, though flush with money, fame, physical beauty, and status, a place void of what we all need more than any “thing”.

On this thanksgiving I am thankful for the lesson of broken glass and music found. I shall explain. After a thanksgiving brunch at a local eatery in the mountain village, our family decided we would see a movie together. August Rush was the movie of choice. We arrived at the movie house early and had to wait outside in the frigid brisk mountain air for about thirty minutes. While there my youngest got busy creating a tiny “french” snowman complete with rock eyes, twig mouth, and cap to boot. As we were getting ready to enter the warmth of the theatre another family came strolling up. Leading the pack of this family was a young boy about eight or nine years old. Eager to get in the theater and out of the cold, the little guy ran up to the door and gave it a huge tug, only to see that the door was locked. In the process, the little guy dropped his glass bottle of juice on the sidewalk right in front of the door.

From down the sidewalk came a bellowing voice, “Pick it up, son”. As the father, mother and other siblings just stood there chatting, the little guy was left to do the work on his own. Noticing there were about twenty jagged pieces of glass littering the walk, I decided, since his own family would not move a muscle, that I would give the little guy a hand.

After a few minutes of gathering up the glass, the door finally opened and we all went in to the movie. Continuing to watch the father’s interaction with the son, or the clear lack of interaction, I could not help but think to myself, “What or who is so important, powerful, or otherwise self-focused that they would not care to help their child pick up a broken bottle. After all, the little guy could have sliced his finger open”.

Not wanting to be judgmental and not wanting to make an assumption that was unwarranted I held my tongue and did not mention the thought to anyone. Then, another member of the family chimed in, “Who does that guy think he is. All he could do was yell at the kid and tell him to pick up his mess. How pathetic.”

Then the thought hit me, “Here we are in this pleasure cove of the rich and famous, surrounded by minks, huge diamonds, six-figure SUVs, and multi-million dollar homes (I have none of those by the way) and what is so apparent is the pretense, self-absorption, and lack of love”. And then I thought, “How is it that people who have so much seem not to know, actually know, what really matters.” The answer seems self-evident in light of Jesus’ comments regarding the difficulty with which the rich come to salvation. Yet, we, even those who write about it so often, lose sight of the the REALITY of this truth.

I do recognize that not all who are wealthy are missing the point of life. There are many I know personally who have enormous fortunes AND a passion for God and family (for more on my thoughts on faith and wealth you can go to optimuslife.org, click on the media page, and then click on the Jim Brown radio interview). Sadly, however, many pursue the illusionary promises of wealth, fame, power, and pleasure and come up empty in the end. Longing to fill the void, that for some has been there since childhood, people turn to what they can buy, conquer, or consume to find a reason to keep going.

The doors finally opened, and then came August Rush. The movie, about a musically gifted boy who goes through eleven years of life without his parents, essentially is about finding one’s meaning and purpose in life through pursuit of what God created one to do and to be. The “music” of our souls can be heard as we find our place, our God-ordained place, in this world. No amount of success or pleasure will ever replace the feeling and deep sense of peace which comes only from a knowledge that we are walking in concert with God. All of life comes together as we walk forward in accord with God’s agenda for us. The stars “align” as we allow God to craft our movement.

Surrounded by all this “stuff” here in this beautiful place, anyone, myself included, can be tempted to think, “This is the good life.” And by God’s grace, perspective is granted as we look up, hear the majestic notes of a creative God, and look to Him for our direction. As we place ourselves in His score, we find out bliss. As we allow the Composer of all creation to write his symphony upon our hearts we find the life we were meant to live. And that is what we all hunger and thirst for.

What is it you have been longing for all your life? A parent, a relationship restored, the use of your gifts, success, the American dream, redemption, or something else? Ultimately, all that we desire, what we most long for, what our souls crave, is found in God alone. Allow Him to be the conductor of your life. You will find no greater joy than knowing that you are in tune with the Maestro.

Thankful that God calls my heart to soar…toward Him,

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

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