The Trees Were Paying Attention

About this episode

The episode reflects on the beauty of nature and music through a personal experience of playing guitar in the rain.

Psalm 98:7-8 (The Message) "Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause, with everything living on earth joining in. Let ocean breakers call out, 'Encore!' as they join the rivers in a standing ovation for God." I play the guitar. Actually, it is more accurate to say I play at the guitar. I know enough chords to be dangerous, I can fake my way through a few fingerpicking patterns, and I've made peace with the fact that my F chord is more of an aspiration than an achievement. And bar chords? Forget about it. I love music. Playing guitar gives me somewhere to put my mind that isn't anywhere else. It's a challenge I actually enjoy. And that’s enough. Any proficiency I pick up along the way is gravy on the biscuit. One Saturday morning, I took my guitar out to the screened porch. I'd been practicing chord changes for weeks, and I thought a few minutes of that might be good. I was concentrating on my fingers when I noticed it had started to rain. Not a storm, just a soft, steady rain moving through the trees in the yard. I kept playing. And then I noticed something. My backyard is mostly trees. As the rain fell, it made a particular sound as it hit the layers of branches and…

People in this episode

Host: Jim Stovall

Topics covered

• music
• nature
• spirituality
• appreciation
• reflection

Keywords

• guitar
• rain
• trees
• applause
• Psalm
• music
• spirituality

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: First United Methodist Church

Books & works: Psalm 98:7-8

Places: Maryville, TN

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