I first heard a live performance of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony when I was in college.  The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erich Kunzel produced a memorable experience. Yes, the violinists were impressive, but I was mesmerized by the timpani player. Before his entry, he would slip from a high stool and with a flip of tuxedo tails lift the mallets in preparation for his part. With blurred hands, he made Beethoven’s storm come alive with the thundering timpani.

When I looked ahead at the part I hoped to play in God’s plan for my life,  I had in mind a timpani part. I wanted to shake my world and make people feel the sense of God’s power. I knew I fell short of the ability to be a first violinist, but perhaps I could make the world take notice with a missionary career or a Christian best-seller – all for God’s glory of course. God, though, had another instrument in mind for me – the triangle. The triangle seldom appears in classical or even contemporary symphonies. The player of the triangle must often wait through many movements of a symphony before playing a single solitary note, but following the director and coming in on the right beat is essential for a well-performed concert.

Most of us are triangle players.

Sometimes we feel as if we wait forever to make a difference in our world. We must stay alert, though, for our part and pay attention to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Our note may be to stop what we are doing and take time to pray for someone that God brings to mind. It may mean sending a card, an email, a text message, making a phone call, taking time from our schedule to visit someone, handing a $20 bill to someone in the supermarket, or giving someone a homemade glass of strawberry jam. Every note, played in God’s time and for his glory, contributes to God’s great symphony of love to this world. Stay alert to that subtle move of the Conductor’s hand that signals

“It’s time for you to play your note.”

Martha Hawn VanCise© 2021