FERMATA - A Pause is Good For The Soul

Musically speaking, a Fermata is a Pause. A prolonging of the measure value of a note or
rest, dependent upon the taste of the performer: indicated by a sign placed over or
under the note, rest or chord.

Merriam-Webster defines a pause as: a temporary stop : a period of time in which
something is stopped before it is started again, or a control that you use when you want to
stop a recorded song, movie, etc., for a short time.

The pause in music is a very useful tool for musicians in that it offers variation in
movement and intensity. It gives respite to a certain character or mood of music
established by it rhythm, dynamic level or harmonic structure. It also provides
opportunity for new and exciting entrances to subsequent passages.

In our lives, both physical and spiritual, there are times when we must pause and evaluate
our relationship with The Lord, our ministry and its effectiveness, our relationship with
those surrounding us and basically the way we are proceeding in this life. We must
allow The Father to speak to us in a state of receptiveness and calm. The result will be
new energies, new beginnings and new experiences of fellowship with God The father
through His Son Jesus. (Crescendos and Diminuendos, Jack Coleman)

 Norah Jones wrote these words about pausing and coming away:
Come away with me in the night
Come away with me
And I will write you a song
Come away with me on a bus
Come away where they can't tempt us, with their lies
I want to walk with you
On a cloudy day
In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high
So won't you try to come
Norah Jones, copyright: Muthajones Music LLC, EMI Blackwood Music Inc.

 Jesus responded to the request of 2 blind men by stopping or pausing:
As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men
were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted,
“Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet,
but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Jesus stopped and
called them. “What do you want me to do for you?”
Matthew 20:29-32

 If Jesus stopped or paused, shouldn’t we do the same. A pause is good for the soul.

 “What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36

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