Welcome back to Tuesday and another edition of the blog about music and life, Tuesday's Musical Notes. We've had a lot of that life happening in Notesland recently and decided to take a small vacation. We posted every week for over a decade and decided that with some of the changes we had occurring in our part of the world, it was time to take a brief break, recapture The Notes magic and breathe.
Everyone has those moments in their life where a reset happens. Sometimes those are under our control, others not so much. Regardless of the circumstances the reset occurs and our lives take a dramatic pitch in a different direction than the one in which we were headed. Has this ever happened to you? I sure hope that you were able to take a break and navigate the new with an optimistic spirit and an attitude of adventure. If you are still in the midst of the reset and you're a little bummed, take heart and breathe in, breathe out. Eat a nice meal. Certainly take time to reflect on the changes in your life and see how the best outcomes can happen. If possible, take that break. We all need them. Psychoanalysis complete, proceed to the next portion of your favorite blog...
Recently we had the opportunity to speak at the memorial service for a college friend. She had an indomitable, positive outlook on life even after she had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. As a vocation, she was a music teacher. She however, fulfilled many roles as a friend, confidant, mentor, teacher, musician, cheerleader, and all around good gal. She was one of those kinds of folks that everyone should have in their lives. She was Marta Holt.
I met her in the fall of 1984 when she joined the Marching Razorback band of which I was a part. As I was introduced to her, I remember having the thought, did she just sing all of her words? She adored music and whenever given the opportunity would burst into a melody that she knew. It was not unusual to have her sing part of the conversation you might be having with her. She was such a positive person that my roommate, Jeff and I, would purposefully do things to aggravate her to see if she would fuss at us. Needless to say, while we might have gotten the "Marta look" on several occasions, she never seemed perplexed at our sometimes relentless teasing.
Marta was a "creative" before the term became cool and hip. I knew her first as a gifted saxophone player in the band, as I got to know her, I saw that her giftedness extended to vocal music of which she was a major, as well as sewing arts (she stitched a really cool Razorback small wall hanging for me while we were in school). In recent years, she had taken up the artwork of hand making quilts. For a long time, it had been my intention to get someone to make a quilt of my many college band, college dorm, and college life t-shirts. When I discovered this talent of Marta's I instantly reached out and commissioned her to make a quilt with those t-shirts. What came of this commissioning is a priceless treasure and beautiful piece of artwork that encapsulates the "fun" aspects of my collegiate experience. She was overjoyed at how it came out and I think perhaps maybe even a little jealous that it was mine. Each patch has a unique story, many of which she took part in. When it was complete, she cheerfully welcomed us into her beautiful, hilltop home and unveiled this heirloom as she had it displayed for us to see.
As a teacher she had decades to influence generations certainly in the areas of music, but also in life. Marta served as a great example to younger teachers of how to have an impact on the lives of students, not just fill them with knowledge to pass standardized tests. It seemed that my life was not the only one positively and forever impacted by the "Marta Force" that was this dear friend.
Marta made those around her better. This is a quality to which we should all aspire. She never allowed someone to give up on their dreams, even if they had given up on it themselves . This was proven to me in a very personal way. I can attest to the fact that Marta is one of the reasons why I have a college degree today. The Spring semester after I had met her had been unexpectedly rough. I was ready to give up on my college degree dreams. Marta would not have it. She encouraged me, rather forcefully as I recall and certainly with a song and a "Marta Look", to register again for the Fall Semester and get ready to make changes.
I changed majors, found a great collegiate advisor and started all over. Those changes ultimately led me to be at college when I met the love of my life, majored in business and began to succeed in school, and see a future that was hopeful. Without her encouragement, many things in my life today would be different, probably not for the better.
Marta's presence, positiveness, and encouragement were integral in my life. Those characteristics of her life serve as an example of how I want to live my life and her entire persona reminds me of another piece of encouragement from long ago...
While she never wore the habit of a nun, (she probably played one in a musical she performed so she might have after all) she really was that person in my life that could have easily sung this special song to me...
In the movie adaptation of the brilliant Rogers & Hammerstein musical, Peggy Wood portrayed the role of Mother Abbess. However, due to the range needed by the song Margery MacKay did the voice over for the song. Peggy Wood was not alone in seeing the song as difficult. Ladies who would play the role on stage also found its Written into the musical to give an inspirational lift to Maria, the song delivers in its memorable placement in the musical as well as its lyrical content. On Stage the song was done as the conclusion of the first act. The movie differs in its placement of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" as the opening of the 2nd act. The movie version proved so hard to sync lyric with track that they eventually had to film Mother Abbess in silhouette to allow for the song to be perfectly in sync later.
In today's focal passage we see the Apostle Paul begin an encouraging vein in his letter. Remember, Paul had already experienced many trials as he went about his missionary journeys and was at this point writing to the church from prison. Even through his tumult he encourages the church to "rejoice in the Lord". This instruction to praise leads into a passage of warning about the society in which they live. Paul then redirects their attention to the One who enables them to rejoice even in the hard times. He counts all of the gains he has made in his life as things that are worthless when viewed through the lens of Jesus. He says that the "surpassing knowledge of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" is worth more to him than anything in which he had succeeded or the experience he had gained by overcoming the trials that he faced.
He then establishes the fact that while he had this attitude, he did not consider himself as having "arrived". He realized that he had much to learn and experience before his time was done. "...Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus..." (vs. 13-14 NASB) He realizes that there is much that God has planned for him and that he is to "climb every mountain" to make sure God's plans for him are accomplished. "...follow every by-way, every path you go..."
The back half of this chapter is filled with the reminder that we are not permanent inhabitants of this world. Yet, there are those who are deceitful in their walk and don't truly follow Christ. Paul encourages them to be discerning even in their interactions with believers. "...For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself." I'm not sure about you, but I'm ready for such power to transform my body and become a citizen of heaven. My friend Marta has now experienced that power. But until it is my time to be transformed, I will "Climb every mountain, ford every stream..." and attempt to do it like my dear friend Marta did.
Thanks Marta (December 14, 1965 - May 31, 2024)
Loving HIM by Loving You,
randy
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