Are You Practicing Your Mistakes

Colossians 3:23-24 (New International Version)

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Caroline, was a talented musician even as a teen-ager but after a compliment she would always say, "Thank you, but "I play well only because of my teacher, you should hear her, she plays like the touch of angel wings on the strings." She was referring to Katherine who was not only her teacher, an exceptional violinist, but also a very kind, generous, elect lady who not only taught her music but many good things about life.

After Katherine's death it was very hard for Caroline to put her heart into her playing. She and her parents were at a loss as to where they could possibly find another teacher. After several weeks went by they were surprised by a phone call from, Jason, the son of this beloved teacher. He quietly said, "If you ever feel like you could drive, once a week, the 3 hours, to where I live, I would like to have Caroline as my student and try to take up where my mother left off - I think she would like that."

Needless to say they gave little thought to the drive. The important things was to begin lessons again and to have lessons from this extraordinary young man, who was already a member of a well known symphony orchestra, seemed like a God-send.

The young student had let her violin lay in its case for several weeks but now music filled their home. She realized she had much practicing ahead to make up for those weeks of letting the violin lay idle. Saturday morning came almost to quickly and anticipation turned to apprehension. As they turned on the street where the new teacher lived, Caroline turned to her mother and said, "Mom, I don't think he will teach me very long." "Oh, I don't mind waiting an hour, it will be worth it," Joanna, her mother replied. "No, I don't mean that, I mean he will listen to me and say, "Caroline, get a life! I don't have time for you, I can tell you haven't been practicing." Joanna, offered the needed encouragement and Caroline slowly walked up the sidewalk to the front door.

It took only a few minutes of visiting for Caroline to became comfortable with the new teacher. Jason reminded her so much of his mother. For the next 15 minutes he instructed her to play certain pieces for him and then suggested a rest. Caroline knew she had not played as she had done in the past and the apprehension returned. Jason, picked up her violin and looked at it and then at her as he said, "You are a good violinist, Caroline but you can become a great violinist, it is your choice, if you will remember one thing, "Don't practice your mistakes." For a moment she looked at him with surprise and wonder, he wasn't reprimanding her; he was instructing and encouraging her just as his mother had. "Oh, alright, I won't - not ever again," she quickly replied.

Jason smiled; he could remember those years when he was her age and that same lesson his mother had taught him. "Don't practice your mistakes." Those words had been a great influence in every phase of his life, as well as the reminder, "It is your choice."

After Caroline left, he sat a few minutes alone in the music room. His wife wondering why he hadn't come into to lunch went in search of him. He smiled as she came through the door, "My, sweet I don't think it will be long until we hear violin music that will sound like the whisper of angel wings on the strings."

"How did it go," Joanna asked when Caroline got into the car. "Mother, I know this sounds strange, but it felt just like Katherine was there as Jason talked with me, I'll bet if she were still alive she would have said just what Jason said as I left, "Drive carefully and don't forget Caroline, don't practice your mistakes." Joanna reached over and gave her daughter a warm hug.

Dear Lord we pray today that we would not practice our mistakes. Help us do the very best in all that we do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Worth the Practice.

2 Timothy 2:15 (New International Version)

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

How a person reacts to criticism often means the difference between success and failure. Take the case of Ole Bull, the famous Norwegian violinist of the past century.

His practical father, a chemist, sent him to the University of Christiania to study for the ministry and forbade him to play his beloved violin. He promptly flunked out and, defying his father, devoted all his time and energy to the violin.

Unfortunately, though he had great ability, his teachers were relatively unskilled, so that by the time he was ready to start his concert tour he wasn't prepared.

In Italy a Milan newspaper critic wrote: "He is an untrained musician. If he be a diamond, he is certainly in the rough and unpolished."

There were two ways Ole Bull could have reacted to that criticism. He could have let it make him angry, or he could learn from it.

Fortunately he chose the latter. He went to the newspaper office and asked to see the critic. The astounded editor introduced him. Ole spent the evening with the 70-year-old critic, asked about his faults, and sought the older man's advice on how to correct them.

Then he cancelled the rest of his tour, returned home, and spent the next six months studying under really able teachers.

He practiced hours upon hours to overcome his faults. Finally, he returned to his concerts and, when only 26, became the sensation of Europe.

Dear Lord we pray that we would not get discouraged with things that happen around us. We pray that we would work hard to make ourselves better. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

How Much Music Can You Make?

2 Timothy 1:7 (New International Version)

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Imagine this. A concert violinist is performing a difficult piece in front of a large audience. Suddenly there is a loud snap that reverberates throughout the auditorium. The audience immediately knows that a string has broken and fully expects the concert to be suspended until another string, or instrument, is brought to the musician.

But instead, the violinist composes herself, closes her eyes and then signals the conductor to begin again. The orchestra resumes where they had left off and now the musician plays the music on three strings. In her mind she works out new fingering to compensate for the missing string. A work that few people can play well on four strings, the violinist with the broken string plays on three.

When she finishes, an awesome silence hangs in the room. And then as one, the crowd rises to their feet and cheers wildly. The violinist smiles and wipes perspiration from her brow. When silence returns to the great room, she explains why she continued to play in spite of a broken string. "You know," she says, still breathless, "sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left." *

We know what she means, don't we? Maybe we've lived most of our lives and we have only a little time left. Can we still make music?

Maybe disease has robbed us of our capacity to work. Can we still make music?

Perhaps a financial loss has left us impoverished. Can we still make music?

Or maybe a meaningful relationship has ended and we feel alone in the world. Can we still make music?

There will come a time when we all experience loss. Like the violinist, will we find the courage to discover just how much music we can still make with what we have left? How much good we can still do? How much joy we can still share? For I'm convinced that the world, more than ever, needs the music only you can make.

And if it takes extra courage to make the music, many will applaud your effort. For some people have lost more than others, and these brave souls inspire the rest of us to greater heights.

Just how much music can you make with what you have left?

Dear Lord we pray that we would take what we have and continue to make music rather than make excuses. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.