Charming Cellos

              The days directly following big events kind of depress me; everything that I've been looking forward to and preparing for is suddenly gone. Although the finished product is often super amazing, it feels kind of sad that it's over. For the past 4 months, I had been looking forward to last Saturday. This past Saturday was the premier of Calvin's Charming Cellos in our Cello Cabaret.
              I was very hesitant to get involved in it at first, because I didn't know if I could handle the time commitment and didn't want to be judged because I'm not exactly the most amazing (or dedicated) cellist out there. It's not that I'll flake on what I've committed myself to, I just don't have the passion to go and seek out tons of opportunities to play. I'll do my best with what I'm involved in for sure, but I'm definitely no genius cellist. But, with the influence of a few lovely cello ladies, I decided to be a part of it. Who could pass up an opportunity like an all cello recital?

All 12 of us!

            The concert opened with the Klengel, and it was amazing. Just the effect of having 12 cellos playing all together was awesome, even while on stage it was hard not to get distracted listening to the beauty of it all. I think my favorite part was the fact that it encompassed wide range of technical ability— everyone from cello enthusiast to cello prodigy.
               Then came the Vivaldi. Surprisingly, I don't have much to say about it... other than we gave it our best shot! Overall, I think it was one of the best times we had ever played it. Even better was the fact that I got to meet and get to know some really quality people through the process. Rehearsal usually isn't my favorite thing; it's tiring and sometimes frustrating. These rehearsals were so much fun though, even if I was tired and frustrated— we grew together as musicians and as people and we had fun doing it.

Vivaldi Cellists after the Cabaret.

                For the majority of the rest of the concert I got to listen to the great amount of talent that was found onstage playing Bach, Led Zeppelin, Popper, Metallica and so much more. I do have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the rendition of Bad Romance. Cellists, being clever characters, always have to throw in a twist. To the audience's surprise, the song ended out with a chorus of kazoos played by the rest of us Charming Cellos hanging out on the balcony. It probably sounded terrible, but the audience's reaction was highly entertaining.

             The program listed "You Know What" by "You Know Who" as the second to last piece. Every cellist despises Pachelbel's Canon in D, but we decided to make the best of it and maybe poke a little fun at it. Filled with dragging chairs, a little heckling, Jesus Loves Me, bridesmaid-type entrances, cello being played like a violin, and interpretative dance this number was definitely not run of the mill. It was pretty funny and the perfect segway into Nearer My God to Thee. The traditional hymn in a cool new arrangement was really powerful and left you to revel in the glory of cello.
            I honestly loved every second of it. I'm not a natural performer, but getting to play with these amazing people helped calm the nerves a bit. I know some better than others, but I think that all of them are talented people and am really blessed to get to know them and perform with them. There's a sense of unity between us all, even though we're all super different. It's like we're all one big cello family! I am thankful now more than ever that I play cello; all the fun little things we've done and the friendships formed have made this year a little easier. And I can't wait to see how God is going to use us individually and as a group of cellists, with or without music, for His own glory.

Namaste

Namaste is a traditional Indian greeting that many people understand to be the equivalent of “Hello.” From what I have read recently, it conveys so much more meaning than that, though. Shane Claiborne, in his book The Irresistible Revolution, mentions that from his experience working in Calcutta, namaste means something along the lines of “I see God in you” or “I honor the Holy One who lives in you.” Yeah, go ahead and point out that the Hindu gods/ Buddha are not the one true God. I understand, and agree, but I think the meaning behind the idea of namaste is an incredible one, no matter the deity being spoken of.

In The Valley of Vision (a collection of Puritan prayers) there is one prayer called “The All-Good” that talks about God’s goodness to us, and the goodness of His divine will, even when we don’t recognize it. Suddenly, another connection appears—“My God, thou hast helped me to see… that it is an amazing thing to see Deity in a creature, speaking, acting, filling, shining through it…” How beautiful it is to see God in someone, indeed!

All humans were created in the image of God. That is something that gives me hope: God loved humanity enough to set us apart from the rest of animal kind and put the image of Himself in us. And if you look, you can clearly see God in other people. Their talents and abilities clearly reflect how God has blessed them. Moreover, their personality reflects the image of God. I love being able to see how she sweetly and endearingly shows God’s love to everyone around her, how he has such startling and true insight into people and life, how she can use logic and reason in such a skillful way that makes her argument strong, how he can take something chaotic or broken and innovate a way to make it beautiful and functional. I see God in them.

"To love another person is to see the face of God." This quote from Les Miserables adds another dimension to the whole seeing God in a person idea. It is through loving one another that we truly see God in a person. Selfless love, like the love Christ had for the Church, really enables us  to see them for who they are and see God in and through them. 

Even after all of this, I still can't define word for word what it means to "see God" in another person. My guess is you can't either. But we feel it; intuitively our being knows what it means to see God in someone. It's one of those mysterious balances in life. We know what it means, but can't verbalize it. Even if we can't, at least having it stretch our minds and make connections with our lives is a wonderful place to start. Namaste.