He must Crescendo

I've been blessed by the opportunity to serve for a number of years at Crescendo Summer Institute (CSI), a master class and festival for talented young musicians in Tokaj, Hungary. 

It is always a highlight of my year, thanks to the wonderful people and breathtaking ways God works there. 

Unfortunately this year, due to Covid-19, CSI can't be held in person, but there will be an online program to remind us that "Apart, we are still together." On the eve of CSI 2020, I'm reminded of this poem I wrote on the final morning of CSI 2019.

4 August 2019 – Sunday Morning by the Tisza River

Like the river sliding silently past,

     two weeks of CSI have come and gone.

And before I go, my heart pauses with wonder

     at the thousand points of light held in

     the space of days, spread like winking diamonds

across the surface of the sun-speckled river,

     filling a field with fireflies on a summer night –

The light of a smile shared

     A hand squeezed in blessing

Bursts of laughter around a lunch table

     Tears met by a caring friend

Freedom come – and coming

A Soul in stillness staring up at the stars

     in the inky blue night sky

Notes flowing from the depths of an artist’s heart

     as a teacher passes the flame to one who will carry it onward

And in it all we are held in the sweeping arms of the Father,

     at rest even in our work.

He must Crescendo and we must decrescendo.

(Beat Rink, the founder of Crescendo International, shared this idea during Creative Church, adding a Crescendo spin to John the Baptist’s words in John 3:30 – “He must increase, but I must decrease.”)