Not Quite Right... (do it again!)

"Our part is to learn the tune, and not be discouraged during the rests" John Ruskin (SitD)

I'm the kind of guy that wants to skip ahead to the end, work it all out, then fix any mistakes I made along the way. And I think there's a place for that. I think sometimes we have to "get to the end already". But there are some things that are too important to God for Him to skip to the end. When it becomes clear that there is a lesson to learn, God will keep us on that part until we finally work with Him to deal with it.

I picture the way that I learned the guitar, self-taught. But what if I had an instructor? When I was playing scales, the instructor would be more demanding of the cleanness of the playing, the precision. They would say, "you need to practice that 100 times at different rhythms and I'm going to test you next week." If I didn't do the homework I would fail the test. The instructor would not be able to move on until I learned to play the scales with precision. I might ask, "why is this so important?" I'd ask to move on to something else. The instructor might say, "you may move onto something else, but it won't be music".

There are certain things in life that have to come before others. You cannot run before you walk, and all that sort of thing. But it's true. I cannot expect to lead people before I can be lead. I cannot expect to speak into others' lives, when I have so much nonsense in my own. I am not seeing clearly enough yet. And maybe I never will, but one thing I do:

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, (Phil 3:13)

Heavenly Father, thank You for the model You have given us in Jesus. Also, the Brother, Friend, Father, Healer, and Lord. Thank You for providing everyday, and Thank You for caring so much that I "get it right". Help me to learn the lessons You are laying out for me. Help me to forgive, to be a doer of the Word, and to be present in the moment with You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

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