Every Friday was painful. Literally.
Band-aids covered my fingers and the shaking in my voice went to the tips of my toes. Hardly any of the strings rang clearly and my voice was a whisper.
The only comfort was everyone had their moment in front of Miss Samuelson’s guitar class. I practiced on the guitar until my fingers were red and hurt so bad I cried. I practiced an hour everyday in class and then more in the evening, just to perform Leaving on a Jet Plane or Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, with some shred left of my 7th grade dignity.
I practiced as I had never practiced before.
Weeks and weeks passed. The pain gradually diminished and my fingers did not agonize over every chord change and I learned to sing alone.
I kept singing after that year, but the guitar grew dusty until I went to college and discovered God not only enjoyed organ hymns and choir music, but also guitar praise choruses. And I finally was thankful for the band-aids and shaking, as I learned to worship and lead others in singing.
Practicing has become an important concept for me. Other life experiences made me think a person either has a skill or doesn’t, and there really isn’t much that can be done. But it simply isn’t true. We can practice.
And even more important. We can fail. Put band-aids on our fingers or our hearts, and get back to practicing.
“The ambitions we have will become the stories we live. If you want to know what a person’s story is about, just ask them what they want.” (Donald Miller)
What do you want, enough to practice over and over, enough to risk failure, enough to walk through some discomfort?
God invites us to practice with the Holy Spirit. Doing scales each day in prayer and God’s Word, playing the pieces of our lives–choices, conversations, relationships, work, griefs, hopes, pain. We can learn over time and with the Spirit to play them with less fear, with more love and trust. Maybe even with gratitude. The goal is not a perfect grade, but a life sung in worship to the glory of God and for the sake of others.
And the best promise of God’s grace and hope:
I so often miss the notes and still God carries the tune.
In gratitude for…
Life with less screen time, growing more comfortable with silent solitude, so thankful for focus and renewed creativity.
An interview for a dream position at a dream school.
Delightful lunches and encouraging conversations with friends.
Getting caught up in the Story this week and finding a spark for evangelism growing in my heart.
Three adults and two children singing “In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful” in the car to calm the twinfants’ chorus of crying. A choir could never sound as beautiful.
Spending a delightful hour with my young friend Jack, buzzing down the aisles of Costco, talking and laughing.
