Sometimes It's The Hard Thing

I was driving to work this morning, and as I  have been trying to do during Lent, I was saying the Rosary.  Being Tuesday, I started on the Sorrowful Mysteries.  For those that are not Catholic, the Sorrowful Mysteries are:

• the Agony in the Garden
• the Scourging at the Pillar
• the Crowning of Thorns
• Jesus carries His Cross
• The Passion and Death of the Lord

As I started, the thought came to mind.. " I don't want this.  Lord, I don't want to do the Sorrowful Mysteries.  Can't I do the Joyful ones?  I want something happy today."

And... that's the point, isn't it?  Jesus would have liked to skip the sorrowful ones too!  He asked the Father for that.  But it was not to be.

My lesson (reminder) for the day... sometimes it's hard.  Sometimes we have to do the hard thing.  Jesus didn't promise us we wouldn't have hard times (quite the opposite, despite what some preachers say!).  He DID promise us that He'd be with us, and he sent us the Spirit to get us through.  So... a good lesson to renew commitments and keep on keeping on.

4th Anniversary

I drove down to Tucson after work today for Schola rehearsal (we are singing for Good Friday).  I took the Miata, since my Ford is in the shop still.  Normally I don't drive the Miata such long distances -- I have easily doubled the number of miles I drive in a year with this trip :-).

Today is also the 4th anniversary of my Dad's death.  Driving the Miata (it was his car) always makes me feel close to him.  Even though it wasn't on a fun, curvy road, it still was nice.

Miss you, Dad.

Concert...

I was in Tucson today for a concert by the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra . My friend Julie was kind enough to give me one of her comps, and her company when she wasn't playing/busy.

It was a great concert!  Some Walton, some Ravel, and the Faure Requiem, among other things.  I was struck by the connections I had:

• My friend Julie plays with them.  A couple of Sinfonian brothers also sometimes play with them, but weren't there today.
• I bumped into my stepfather at the concert! (his wife plays with them).
• I saw my friends Erica and DeWayne (they were singing in the chorus).
• The piano soloist for the Ravel is a student of our accompanist at SSPP.
• My friend Yelena (who I met at SSPP when she was our accompanist) is going to be their guest artist in November for the Rachmaninoff 3rd Piano Concert (it and she are both amazing).

It's very heartwarming to realize even though I left Tucson 11 (!) years ago I still have these connections.