A Divine Encounter

 by Rev. Kathy Bonvallet

Psalm 46:10 ~ “Be still and know that I am God.”


It was one of those cold December evenings when it felt like the darkness had enveloped the day way too early for my liking. I had been on a search exploring possibilities for new ways to share my music out in the world, and I was considering joining a program to become trained as a therapeutic musician. Some of the pieces seemed to fit, but it would require several weekends traveling to Pennsylvania from my Illinois home for the training modules, and would also require that I learn to play harp. I had already rented a harp and had started Zoom lessons, while my guitars and 40+ years of playing them sat on the sidelines.

In the middle of this dark, Midwestern winter evening, feeling a bit restless, came a nudge to shift things with a bit of holiday cheer. “Hey, Bob,” I said, “Let’s go for a drive and look at some Christmas lights.” But no sooner had we bundled up in our hats, gloves, and down parkas, and began feeling a bit of warmth from the car’s heater vents, did I hear: “Go get a frozen yogurt”.

                                                            

Huh? Getting something to eat right now was not on my radar—and certainly not something cold. But again I heard—Go get a frozen yogurt. This directive did not feel like I had anything to do with it. We drove a few miles down the road to a local yogurt shop, pulled into the empty lot and walked in. The only person in the store was the young woman working behind the counter, playing a ukulele. Bubbling with excitement, she shared that she had just learned about a program to become trained as a therapeutic musician, using any instrument of choice. This certification program was beginning in just a few weeks, with in-person modules meeting at a hospital 15 minutes down the road.

The rest, they say, is history. With the help of many angels—celestial and human—I entered and completed my certification in a manner so synchronistic and seamless that there is no doubt that it was, and continues to be, held and guided by Divine Grace and Love, as I now serve in a local hospital bi-weekly as a therapeutic musician.

Albert Einstein once said: “There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

The miraculous is everywhere and in everything. It is ready to guide us, direct us and help us—the “trick” for me is to just get still and receptive long enough to allow its magnificence to have its way.

Ron Roth would sometimes use secular songs at the CLM retreats to illustrate the Divine is in everything. Here is a song I remember from 2003 that I now take into the mental health units at the hospital that often has a positive and uplifting impact on those hearing it.