May 13: Give It a Try, Collage Concert, Let There Be Peace

"The thing is, Pop, I've decided to give it a try, it just feels like something I'm destined for; it's something I've thought about since I was a kid, and it just won't go away.  I guess what I'm asking you, Pop, is for your blessing.  I know you can give me that, can't you?"

Robert, Ives' son, has decided to enter a monastery, and he wants his father's blessing.  Ives never saw it coming.  He knew his son was devout in his faith, but Ives didn't realize how deep the waters flowed in Robert.  Of course Ives gives his blessing, but, like most parents, he frets and worries about his child's happiness.


I just got back from my daughter's Collage Concert.  It is the big, end-of-the-year performance for all the bands and choruses (grades four through high school).  It's one of my favorite events of the school year.  This evening, the closing number was an arrangement of "Let There Be Peace on Earth."  I thought I was going to hate it.  They have been playing that song at the end of the worship services at my wife's church every Sunday for months.  It doesn't make me feel very peaceful any more.  It makes me want to jab somebody with a sharp pencil.

However, tonight, I found myself profoundly moved by the closing number.  All those young people, singing, playing instruments, raising a sound for peace and love.  I was overwhelmed.  The fact that this is my daughter's last year in middle school may have also been a contributing factor, as well.  Like Ives, I find myself fretting and worrying about my daughter's future.

Anyway, Saint Marty had a really good night, full of music and laughter and a few tears.

There is hope for this world...