I had my daily practice session
at the organ earlier today, and I must say that it wasn’t a good day. In fact,
it was downright stinky. Sour notes all over the place, and it seemed like my
fingers had minds of their own and were going off in directions they shouldn’t
have been taken. Pieces I usually play with ease suddenly were filled with
obstacles; in some cases it seemed like I have never ever practiced those
pieces before.
And yet, I trudged on, and put
in my time, even though thing weren’t going right. Years ago I would have
simply walked away from the organ discouraged and frustrated, but not now. Now
I just trudge along. What makes the difference?
The difference is that I’ve come
to realize that sometimes we have to get through the stinky times in order to
get to the good ones. And, as any creative person will tell you, sometimes we
have to make bad art before we can make good art. In fact, the “down times”
(such as what I had today) are actually a necessary and even vital part of the
process. You don’t get to the good without suffering through the not-so-good
when it comes along, time and time again, knowing that everything has its
contribution to the process and that nothing can be done to run away or prevent
ourselves squeezing through what we have to in order to get to the end.
This a symbol for the spiritual
life as well. God leads us through it all, and as we grow older, we begin to
discover that God uses everything, even those parts of our lives that we’d
rather not remember.
All is in process. All is in God’s
hands. And, ultimately, no matter what the path may be like, if we walk it with
faith and endure it with patience, it will all lead back to God.
The next reflection will be on Sunday, November 22.
No comments:
Post a Comment