Drama, Dreams & The Music Man

It's a clear and beautiful Thursday winter morning. As I sit here in the kitchen sipping my cup of tea, my mind is still filled with, and fueled by, the thoughts of the great Service we enjoyed last night at C3. We are presently in the middle of a series based on Kevin Gerald's book entitled "Forces that Form Your Future" and the session last night was on "the Power of a Dream." We learned why dreams are important, how dreams need to be nurtured, and what to do when facing "dream thieves." it was a powerful evening at Cornerstone.

Upon returning home and getting ready for bed, I turned on the tv and began flipping through the channels. I ended up landing right in the middle of "The Music Man," the 1962 classic featuring Robert Preston and Shirley Jones, which may be my all-time favorite in a genre that I'm not really into -- musicals. This is one of those rare gems of a film that puts a smile on my face every time I see it. Robert Preston was at the top of his game portraying "professor" Harold Hill. Surprising that he did not get a Best Actor nomination with his performance. As a side note, the movie was nominated for Best Picture that year, though neither it, nor, another one of my all-time favorites, "To Kill a Mockingbird," won that year -- thanks to the epic "Lawrence of Arabia."

Back to the story. "The Music Man" is a wonderful tale about a con man by the name of Harold Hill, who comes to the conservative town of River City intending to cheat the community with his oft-played scam of offering to equip and train a boy's marching band, then skip town with the money (since he has no music skill anyway). However, while running his scam, he ends up falling for the beautiful town librarian which provides the conflict in the story. Does he take the money and run, or does he stay and face the music?

In the movie, the "Professor's" charismatic, musical scam, actually brings hope, life and vitality to the people of River City. We know it's a con-game, but is that all it is? In the latter part of the film, there is a great scene where Robert Preston, the con man, is on a bridge waiting for his love-interest, Shirley Jones. He looks down into the water and a marching band appears -- which he begins to lead. We now get to see what most people in the film could not see -- Harold Hill's DREAM. What was driving him, down deep inside, was the dream of having a band and leading a band! We realize that Hill wasn't a terrible person after all -- just a dreamer who had lost his way. The wonderful story ends with the redemption and reclamation of Harold Hill and his dream!

What about the story of your life? What about your dreams? Have they been forsaken, forgotten, or lost? God has planted dreams of a better future and a brighter tomorrow in the human heart that need to be embraced and nurtured. In the Bible, it took Joseph years of challenging obstacles before he realized his dream. Don't let life's challenges cause you to let go of your dreams. Don't be hindered by doubt, fear, and time. Keep believing in the God who believes in you! Keep the dream alive -- you can still make beautiful music after all!