I took piano lessons when I was a kid, starting around the age of ten. My fascination with the piano, along with my musical education, began years before that.
When I was in kindergarten, we had a piano in my classroom. As far as I can remember, it sat there unplayed. I was drawn to it like a magnet, which got me into trouble on numerous occasions. When my parents finally purchased my beloved piano, which I still have, it was years later, and we had moved several times.
When Dad gave me my piano, he made a significant request. He asked that I learn to plan Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
Having been familiarized over the years with Beethoven and other notable composers since my Dad regularly blasted classical music on our family “HiFi” while pretending to conduct an invisible symphony, I settled in with the task of learning to play these composers on my new piano.
Years have gone by, lots of them, since I got my piano. But I still have “lessons.” Oh, not the traditional kind of lessons but lessons nonetheless. Each day, I sit down and play Moonlight Sonata once again. I think about my Dad and smile. I also think about my grandson, who is barely older than I was when I first started playing but has already well surpassed me with his skill and talent.
Mostly, though, I just talk to Jesus. And listen.
I’ve been asking Him to help me finally get it right, to play the whole song without a single mistake, all the way through, if only just once. But, alas, it hasn’t happened. Maybe one day it will.
Usually, I start out completely soft and beautiful, expressive. And I can get the ending right and glorious most of the time, thankfully! It’s those pesky accidentals in the middle that trip me up almost every time, even though I know to expect them.
The Lord once told me that my piano playing is lovely, even if I don’t get it right, even if I make mistakes. He said the beauty of my playing shines through in every single note. He reminded me what the lessons are all about, that it’s in the coming back, day after day, because of my love and the beauty of the music.
Then I realized that we weren’t talking about piano lessons at all. We were talking about life. And memories. And legacy. We were talking about trying over and over again - about spirit over temporal.
So when you show up for your “lessons” with Him, remember to listen to His whispers about the beauty and love in your life.
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