I Am A Bell

If you play the white keys on a piano at a consistant tempo, from a high C to a lower C, you have played all the natural notes. If you change the rhythm, you have the first stanza of "Joy to the World". It's all in how it's played. There are whole notes, half, quarter, sixteenth notes and more. There are triplets and trills. There are rests and sustains, pianissimos and fortissimo. Then there are sharps, flats, clefs, measures, and time signatures. And don't forget pizzicatos.  Combine these in different orders and we have the sounds and songs we love as well as the sounds and songs we might not like at all. That is music.

That is also life. I like to think of myself not as keys on a keyboard, but as brass bells in the Lord's hand-bell choir. I have several sounds, several note, that need to be played when called for. Some times I play softly, sometimes loudly, and sometimes not at all. Some songs just don't need my notes. Others have me sounding quite often.

At times I am a whole note that is held onto, It's nice when everyone is a whole note at the same time, resonating together, but I love providing a background tone as others play their notes. When I'm a sixteenth note, I have to be quick and alert, especially when we are in syncopated rhythm. It can be quite challenging.

Throughout the song it is absolutely necessary to keep my eyes on both the conductor and the music, and my ears tuned into the other players. We need to be together. If I don't watch the conductor, I can easily ring in too soon, too late, or completely at the wrong time. As a result, the   music changes. There are even times the listener will cringe at a discordant sound. For example, playing a C natural when the C# is called for doesn't sound very good.

As I said, I see myself as bells, notes in the Lord's choir. If the music I am part of is going to bless others, I can't choose to play my own song while the the conductor is directing the whole choir in something else. I can't decide to be a whole note when the music says I'm a sixteenth note at this point in the song. I can't choose to rest when I am an important part of the melody. I can't play loudly in a quiet section, or ring out so quietly in a fortissimo section that I can't be heard at all. I can't decide to play like I'm in a joyous polka when I am really in a funeral dirge. I have to follow the directions in the music, and the beat given my the conductor. That is all part of being in a bell choir.

When all is done well, the resulting music touches hearts, and is a blessing to not only the hearers, but also the bell players themselves. When we, as bells, live life well, according the the directions in the Word and the beat given by God, the resulting music of our lives also touches hearts and bless everyone who hears.

Trying to play my right bell at the right time and tempo for the glory of God and the blessing of others,
Jan