Do you have people in your life who always seem to speak a word to your heart that reaches in and makes a difference? Yep, me too.
Today at Sharing Life I am introducing you to one of those women. Kimberly Henderson has a heart for Jesus and for women. God has blessed her with lovely insight and ability to put into words what He teaches her for the building up of His Kingdom girls. Most every time I read something that Kimberly writes I am blessed, challenged, and encouraged. Today, she is offering us a bit of faith mentoring that knocked my socks off when I read it for the first time. I daresay that every one of us can identify with Kimberly’s offering today.
Kimberly is a writer who lives in the Upstate of South Carolina. She and her husband are prayerfully raising three beautiful daughters and one extra barky Schnauzer. Kimberly works part-time for Proverbs 31 Ministries and shares her heart at her blog, Learning to Live for His Glory.
Please make my friend, Kimberly, welcome.
I prayed recently that God would let my life be a song to Him. A beautiful one that continues to echo even long after I’m gone.
His reply to me in the days that followed caught me a bit off guard.
Practice your scales.
My scales?
Memories of my childhood and the brief amount of time I spent sitting in front of a piano began to surface.
My grandmother gave piano lessons out of her home when I was a little girl and ended up with me as one of her pupils. Bless her sweet heart. I’m not quite sure how she put up with me. I wasn’t exactly a model student. I despised practicing. And I never showed up with a very teachable heart.
She wanted me to practice my scales and learn the basics. I wanted her to play a song for me once and then let me peck it out by myself. Please and thank you.
She wanted me to start with beginner pieces that made sense for someone of my skill level. I wanted to skip straight to “Memory” from the Broadway musical CATS.
Have mercy.
Needless to say, I didn’t stick with piano for long. Frustration set in and I soon gave up. Now, many years later, my grandmother’s piano sits in my living room. Unplayed. A bit dusty. Massively out of tune.
And I wish – oh, how I wish – I had stuck with those lessons all of those years ago. I wish I could sit down right now and make that Yamaha pour forth the glorious sounds my grandmother once did.
What a powerful lesson for this heart of mine. When life feels more frustration than song… when faith feels too hard and I just want to give up… it’s probably time to go back to the basics. It’s time to practice my scales.
You see, scales are like the building blocks of music. They tune a musician’s ear while also training the musician’s fingers. And God’s Word is overflowing with building blocks for my faith. Truths that tune my heart to the Father’s and help me get to a place where I can move swiftly and confidently whenever and wherever He leads.
Practicing my scales is a call to go back over the basics. To dig into His Word and rediscover truths about Him and about who I am in Him. Truths I can build on.
Basics that will restore my hope when life feels more frustration than song…. God is good. God is faithful. God is merciful. God is forgiving. God is love.
Fundamentals that will help me move in freedom when I am tempted to give up in fear… I am forgiven. I am redeemed. I am set free. I am chosen. I am holy. I am His beloved.
Of course, I realize there is another faith lesson the Lord wants me to glean from my piano lesson memories. One I would be wise to not skip over. One that deals with staying humble and teachable.
I don’t know how many years my grandmother had been playing when I sat down beside her on that piano bench. But I do know it was long enough that I would have benefited greatly if I had chosen to listen and receive.
And there are women all around me who have been walking with the Lord far longer than I have. Women whose lives make rich and beautiful music for Him and because of Him. Women I need to sit with. Women I need to listen to. Because the Lord never hands anyone a Bible and says, “Good luck, kid. See if you can pick out a few tunes on your own.” He gives us His Holy Spirit and He brings people alongside us to teach us and encourage us in His ways.
Has your faith walk been feeling more frustration than song lately? When is the last time you simply sat down and went over the basics? Is there anyone you could sit with and learn from?
Know that I am praying for you today. For all of us. That we will hear the Father singing over us and that our lives would be a love song back to Him.
“The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV
