Thankful on day 13 for...

the Messiah. More than anything else in this world I am thankful for my Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who took on the form of a slave so that I could be reconciled to God. He is worthy of thanks every moment of every day for all of eternity. But I'm also thankful for one extraordinary means of worshipping my Savior: Handel's Messiah. I suppose I come upon my love for this oratorio honestly. It was one of my mom's favorites growing up, and I even recall her dragging us to a live performance once or twice. I also recall hating it. Ironically I now spend the months before Christmas scouring various media outlets looking for any venue within 200 miles hosting such an event. It seems that more people are of my childhood mindset than my adult one because I've only been able to locate a complete performance once in recent years. On my 27th birthday I went to the Walt Disney Concert Hall (a work of art in and of itself) for probably the most emotional musical experience of my life. I went alone (yes, alone - Danny doesn't share my enthusiasm and I didn't want to be distracted) and loved every second of it. It's not short either. I'm sure had a goofy grin pasted on my face. I cried. I laughed at myself for my own intensity. But mostly I marvelled at the beauty of the music and the beauty and sacrifice of the Savior about Whom it was written.

I couldn't find another performance this year. I also can't find the 2nd CD in my two CD set. So I ordered another one today, and I think I'm going to have to break it out pre-Thanksgiving this year. Can't wait!