Coincidence

Today I picked up a book of poetry and idly flipped to page 51, because 51 is my number. Lo and behold, the poem on that page happened to be chock-full of musical references.

This post is about patterns.

Have you ever listened to a piece of music for the umpteenth time (or maybe just the second) and suddenly noticed that a section in the middle uses the same theme as the beginning, but you never noticed before because the composer does something totally and beautifully different with it? Do you know the shiver that runs down your spine when you get it?

Have you ever read a book over again and suddenly realized the deeper meaning the author was pointing to in a passage that you only understood superficially the first time? Do you know the thrill of comprehension when you see it?

Has that ever happened to you in real life?

Even if my worldview didn't tell me so, I would come away from my everyday existence with an uncanny sense that there is a pattern to my life and to the universe. Most of the time I don't see the pattern - as Lewis said, it's written in letters too large for me to read - but every once in a while, I get a glimpse of the big picture. Every once in a while, a tiny corner of the curtain is pulled aside, and I see some connection between two things that seem totally unrelated on my normal level of comprehension. I still don't understand why they're related, because I can only see an infinitely tiny portion of the real pattern, but I can see it is Designed, not random.

This happens to me over and over again, and it gives me a sense of awe every time.