The Beauty of Unity

As I sit there
Listening to the Imam go back and forth
Between eloquent English and poetic Arabic,
I am centered.
And just as my heart begins to beat to the rhythm of his voice,
Drums in the background begin to harmoniously invade the space.

Some, feeling irritated or upset by the drums, start to look around.

The Imam
However
Continues on with his speech,
His words now becoming like a sweet melody to my ears.
The drums are soon accompanied by a piano,
The sweet sounds of gospel music that fills many black churches on Sunday mornings
Have now entered into our Friday afternoon service of Islamic tradition.
The beauty of the unity
Of these two forces combining is
One of ecstatic joy.

How one cannot learn to appreciate the tender moments as they are given to us by God,
Is beyond my understanding.

All I know is that God,
If He was ever present in a gathering,
Was there that day,
With us,
In that room,
And with us,
Those of us who were in the other room with the music.
Only a gift so beautiful could come from the Lord,
And that is an experience I will always be grateful for!