For the past twelve years I have lived on the tiny desert island of Bahrain.
A land between two seas. The land of a million date palms, the land of a thousand smiles.
Before I even knew of the Gulf, Arabia, Bahrain, any of these places, I had a yearning for the vast emptiness of the desert, to feel the searing heat of the sun and the grainy sand between my toes. These thoughts of a land far away were possibly inspired by pictures of my Mum growing up in Egypt whilst her Dad was posted there during the 50's.
There was always something drawing me East. The first time I heard Arabic music I was intoxicated by it. So many Westerners, particularly musicians that I know, find such music monotonous and unremarkable whereas I found it enchanting and deeply expressive; the undulating melodies rising and falling like a plaintive cry in the desert.
It wasn't until the spring of 2002 that I was to find myself finally travelling to this region, to take up a job teaching music at the prestigious St Christopher's School in Bahrain with my then husband who I would work alongside for the next seven years.
I am thankful for these years at St Christopher's. I learnt a huge amount under the guidance of my husband Alistair Auld who was one of the most inspiring musicians I have ever met. I was also very fortunate to have been given many opportunities by the school to develop my skills not only in music teaching and performance coaching, but also in event management.
Now, looking back, I would describe St Christopher's as a highway in the desert for education in this region and I am privileged to have worked there.
After leaving St Christopher's I became one of the founders of Sar Music Centre, a branch of Bahrain Music Institute, an independent music and performing school for children and adults where I was to be Director until it's closure in 2011 due to the unsettled political situation in Bahrain at the time.
From there I went on to become Director of Performing Arts at the British School of Bahrain which brought a new set of challenges. It seemed that I was finally discovering where my talents really lay - in setting up and developing new initiatives. The main essence of my job involved opening a new Academy of Performing Arts, which would offer music and drama tuition and activities to students of BSB and across the whole island and eventually also a full dance school. In addition, my role included developing the curriculum for music and drama within the school and it was here that I felt we really were building a highway in the desert. We were to create a generation of musicians, each child was to learn an instrument for free as part of their classroom music programme. It was a unique blend of the best of the American and British national curriculums.
When I first arrived in Bahrain back in 2002 it really had seemed like a cultural wasteland, but over the twelve years that I have lived here I have witnessed the huge impact that school and community music programmes and institutes such as this, the instrumental programme at St Christopher's, Bahrain Music Institute, Life in Music and other private organisations have had on the cultural life of this tiny island.
Music inspires people. It inspired me. Let it inspire you, let it inspire your children.
Learning a musical instrument not only enhances creativity but is also proven to increase mental capacity and cognitive ability.
I first started playing the piano when I was 6 years old. Although I haven't always practiced very hard and sometimes avoided going near the piano from one lesson to the next when I was going through "one of my rebellious phases", I am continually thankful that my parents didn't let me give up.
But it's not just playing an instrument that's important. Singing plays a vital function in developing confidence as an individual in your own right. No one has your voice, each of us is unique with our own special voice, a voice that deserves to be heard whether you think so or not. Now don't say "but I can't sing, I'm tone deaf" because I don't want to hear it. There is no such thing. I was one of those kids who you really didn't want in your choir! I couldn't hit the notes, I couldn't even sing "Away in a manger" in tune, I was that bad! I used to practice every night with my Mum, trying to sing the first line, knowing full well how awful it sounded, but I persevered, I wanted to sing. I wanted to do everything. I used to believe that I could do anything. Anything at all, nothing was impossible. Until the day I made up my mind to grow a tail. I tried everything I could think of to make this tail grow but my bottom remained totally tail-less, much to my hearts dismay.
But back to the singing, back to the music. By learning to sing, to do something that I was not born to do well made me confident. Tails aside, nothing could stop me.
I thank our great God that He did not just give me a beautiful tuneful voice, that he gave me the desire, the passion, the determination to succeed against the odds.
Without music I would not be here today. Music was my passport to the Middle East, my passport to discovering my true gifting in life, my passport to enter the narrow gate and travel down the road that leads to life, the road that only a few of us find.
It wasn't until February 2014 that I became aware of my purpose in the Middle East, in Bahrain, in life itself. I wasn't just here for the music, for the job. God had called me to this region for a purpose. A purpose that will be my calling from this day forward;
To praise and worship His Holy Name by uniting the church through music and the arts.
As is customary I will finish this post with a prayer:
Dear Lord of all, creator and master of the universe,
We give you all the honour and all the glory for the marvel of your creation, for your purpose in our lives, for your perfect will. There is none like you, for you are above all things, through you all things were made.
Father God, as I look back on my life I repent of my arrogance and harshness, the uncaring, unloving manner in which I lived my life and treated my family, friends and colleagues. I thank you that you never gave up on me.
Though I was lost you found me, you brought me back and showed me a new way. You taught me how to build a highway in the desert, how to enter the narrow gate and walk the road less travelled.
You showed me a reflection of my life, you spoke to me and showed me signs and wonders. You removed my disguise and revealed my scars as open wounds.
And then you healed me.
Hour by hour, day by day, week by week you brought me back to life, you put away my old self and revealed to me my new character by the renewing of my mind and bestowing on me the mind of Christ.
I bow down and worship you my Lord, my Saviour. For 38 years I suffered at the hands of the enemy, like the invalid at the healing pool of Bethesda when Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed, I was incapable of comprehending how I could achieve anything except through my own strength. The idea that Jesus would graciously bestow the gift of Salvation upon me without me having to do anything was seemingly ludicrous.
Forgive me Lord for my unbelief and my lack of faith, for you have shown me a love that goes beyond my wildest dreams.
You have entrusted me with a task so great, so wonderful that my heart overflows with joy.
I thank you Lord that every song I write, every picture I paint, event I organise, poem I create will have you at the centre. You are my inspiration. I will build many highways in this desert in your name Lord. For you live in me and I in you.
In Jesus' Name I pray,
Amen.
Build a highway in the desert for the Lord
Listen to the one who cries in the wilderness,
Build a highway in the desert for the Lord.
Mountains and hills bow down from on high
Whilst the valleys rise up to the sky.
A voice said "Cry out",
And I said "What shall I cry?"
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
The grass is withered and the flowers fade,
But the word of our God stands forever.
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
Listen to the one who tells of the Good News,
Shout to the world from a mountain top.
The Glory of the Lord will be revealed
And the future of believers forever sealed.
A voice said "Cry out",
And I said "What shall I cry?"
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
The grass is withered and the flowers fade,
But the word of our God stands forever.
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
(Video coming soon)
A land between two seas. The land of a million date palms, the land of a thousand smiles.
Before I even knew of the Gulf, Arabia, Bahrain, any of these places, I had a yearning for the vast emptiness of the desert, to feel the searing heat of the sun and the grainy sand between my toes. These thoughts of a land far away were possibly inspired by pictures of my Mum growing up in Egypt whilst her Dad was posted there during the 50's.
There was always something drawing me East. The first time I heard Arabic music I was intoxicated by it. So many Westerners, particularly musicians that I know, find such music monotonous and unremarkable whereas I found it enchanting and deeply expressive; the undulating melodies rising and falling like a plaintive cry in the desert.
It wasn't until the spring of 2002 that I was to find myself finally travelling to this region, to take up a job teaching music at the prestigious St Christopher's School in Bahrain with my then husband who I would work alongside for the next seven years.
I am thankful for these years at St Christopher's. I learnt a huge amount under the guidance of my husband Alistair Auld who was one of the most inspiring musicians I have ever met. I was also very fortunate to have been given many opportunities by the school to develop my skills not only in music teaching and performance coaching, but also in event management.
Now, looking back, I would describe St Christopher's as a highway in the desert for education in this region and I am privileged to have worked there.
After leaving St Christopher's I became one of the founders of Sar Music Centre, a branch of Bahrain Music Institute, an independent music and performing school for children and adults where I was to be Director until it's closure in 2011 due to the unsettled political situation in Bahrain at the time.
From there I went on to become Director of Performing Arts at the British School of Bahrain which brought a new set of challenges. It seemed that I was finally discovering where my talents really lay - in setting up and developing new initiatives. The main essence of my job involved opening a new Academy of Performing Arts, which would offer music and drama tuition and activities to students of BSB and across the whole island and eventually also a full dance school. In addition, my role included developing the curriculum for music and drama within the school and it was here that I felt we really were building a highway in the desert. We were to create a generation of musicians, each child was to learn an instrument for free as part of their classroom music programme. It was a unique blend of the best of the American and British national curriculums.
When I first arrived in Bahrain back in 2002 it really had seemed like a cultural wasteland, but over the twelve years that I have lived here I have witnessed the huge impact that school and community music programmes and institutes such as this, the instrumental programme at St Christopher's, Bahrain Music Institute, Life in Music and other private organisations have had on the cultural life of this tiny island.
Music inspires people. It inspired me. Let it inspire you, let it inspire your children.
Learning a musical instrument not only enhances creativity but is also proven to increase mental capacity and cognitive ability.
I first started playing the piano when I was 6 years old. Although I haven't always practiced very hard and sometimes avoided going near the piano from one lesson to the next when I was going through "one of my rebellious phases", I am continually thankful that my parents didn't let me give up.
But it's not just playing an instrument that's important. Singing plays a vital function in developing confidence as an individual in your own right. No one has your voice, each of us is unique with our own special voice, a voice that deserves to be heard whether you think so or not. Now don't say "but I can't sing, I'm tone deaf" because I don't want to hear it. There is no such thing. I was one of those kids who you really didn't want in your choir! I couldn't hit the notes, I couldn't even sing "Away in a manger" in tune, I was that bad! I used to practice every night with my Mum, trying to sing the first line, knowing full well how awful it sounded, but I persevered, I wanted to sing. I wanted to do everything. I used to believe that I could do anything. Anything at all, nothing was impossible. Until the day I made up my mind to grow a tail. I tried everything I could think of to make this tail grow but my bottom remained totally tail-less, much to my hearts dismay.
But back to the singing, back to the music. By learning to sing, to do something that I was not born to do well made me confident. Tails aside, nothing could stop me.
I thank our great God that He did not just give me a beautiful tuneful voice, that he gave me the desire, the passion, the determination to succeed against the odds.
Without music I would not be here today. Music was my passport to the Middle East, my passport to discovering my true gifting in life, my passport to enter the narrow gate and travel down the road that leads to life, the road that only a few of us find.
It wasn't until February 2014 that I became aware of my purpose in the Middle East, in Bahrain, in life itself. I wasn't just here for the music, for the job. God had called me to this region for a purpose. A purpose that will be my calling from this day forward;
To praise and worship His Holy Name by uniting the church through music and the arts.
As is customary I will finish this post with a prayer:
Dear Lord of all, creator and master of the universe,
We give you all the honour and all the glory for the marvel of your creation, for your purpose in our lives, for your perfect will. There is none like you, for you are above all things, through you all things were made.
Father God, as I look back on my life I repent of my arrogance and harshness, the uncaring, unloving manner in which I lived my life and treated my family, friends and colleagues. I thank you that you never gave up on me.
Though I was lost you found me, you brought me back and showed me a new way. You taught me how to build a highway in the desert, how to enter the narrow gate and walk the road less travelled.
You showed me a reflection of my life, you spoke to me and showed me signs and wonders. You removed my disguise and revealed my scars as open wounds.
And then you healed me.
Hour by hour, day by day, week by week you brought me back to life, you put away my old self and revealed to me my new character by the renewing of my mind and bestowing on me the mind of Christ.
I bow down and worship you my Lord, my Saviour. For 38 years I suffered at the hands of the enemy, like the invalid at the healing pool of Bethesda when Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed, I was incapable of comprehending how I could achieve anything except through my own strength. The idea that Jesus would graciously bestow the gift of Salvation upon me without me having to do anything was seemingly ludicrous.
Forgive me Lord for my unbelief and my lack of faith, for you have shown me a love that goes beyond my wildest dreams.
You have entrusted me with a task so great, so wonderful that my heart overflows with joy.
I thank you Lord that every song I write, every picture I paint, event I organise, poem I create will have you at the centre. You are my inspiration. I will build many highways in this desert in your name Lord. For you live in me and I in you.
In Jesus' Name I pray,
Amen.
Build a highway in the desert for the Lord
(music & lyrics by Lydia Martin inspired by Isaiah 40)
Listen to the one who cries in the wilderness,
Build a highway in the desert for the Lord.
Mountains and hills bow down from on high
Whilst the valleys rise up to the sky.
A voice said "Cry out",
And I said "What shall I cry?"
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
The grass is withered and the flowers fade,
But the word of our God stands forever.
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
Listen to the one who tells of the Good News,
Shout to the world from a mountain top.
The Glory of the Lord will be revealed
And the future of believers forever sealed.
A voice said "Cry out",
And I said "What shall I cry?"
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
The grass is withered and the flowers fade,
But the word of our God stands forever.
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
Praise the Lord our God on High,
Raise your hands up to the sky.
(Video coming soon)
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