Friday, July 01, 2011

The Piano Lesson

Written on June 17th, 2000...

I am reading "When God Whispers Your Name" by Max Lucado, and I read some really encouraging stuff I wanted to pass along to you, if you didn't mind. Just for anyone new, I like to throw out cool stuff I have read or have heard recently, just to try to make my friends smile... hope it works.


Max was telling of his family's visit to an antique shop, when out of nowhere, he heard beautiful piano music. Straining to find the source of the incredible melody, he discovered it was none other than his little girl, Andrea... okay, I will let him tell you the story...

"..as I drew closer, I saw the real reason [the music was playing]. Andrea was 'playing' a player piano. She wasn't making the music, she was following it. She wasn't commanding the keyboard, she was trying to keep up with it... when a key would dip, her hands would dash to it.

Oh, but if you could have seen her little face, delighted with laughter!

“I could see why she was so happy. She sat down to attempt Chopsticks, but instead was playing Sound of Music!. What's more, she couldn't fail. One greater than she was dictating the sound. Andrea was free to play as much as she wanted, knowing the music would never suffer..."

Cute story, huh? Of course, being Max Lucado, you know the inspirational message is right around the corner... and here it is--it's awesome.

"Its no wonder she rejoiced... she had every reason to... and so do we.

Hasn't God promised the same to us? We sit at the keyboard, willing to play the only song we know, only to discover a new song. And nobody is more surprised than we when our meager efforts are converted into melodious moments.

“You have one, you know... yes, even you has a song of your own, I mean. Each of us do. The only question is, will you play it?

“...as I watched Andrea play that day, I observed a couple of things. I noticed the piano got all the credit. The gathered crowd appreciated Andrea's efforts, but they knew the real source of the music.

“When God works, the same is true. We may applaud the disciple, but no one knows better than the disciple who really deserves the praise.

But that doesn't keep the disciple from sitting at the bench. It sure didn't keep Andrea from sitting at the piano. Why? Because she knew she couldn't fail. Even though she didn't understand how it worked, she knew it did somehow.

So she sat at the keyboard and had the time of her life.

“Even though you may not understand how God works, you know he does. So go ahead. Pull up a bench, take your seat at the piano... Play."

Whew. Its awesome to hear, but pulling up the bench isn't as easy as it sounds, we all know. I'm learning...


The Summer of Blogging Day Twenty Nine

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