So we've been cello shopping (witness the last post) for a little while. Josh has decided that he'll tolerate piano, but that he truly loves the cello. I love watching him start to identify with something that will enrich his life so much. He now has two great passions: soccer and cello...a good combination in my book.
Josh has played eleven or twelve 1/2 size cellos in our quest for the "right" instrument. I love that he's so opinionated about them, but it did make for a lot of running around. As he played each one, we talked about the qualities it possessed, whether the tone was open, closed, large, small, nasal, clear, rich, shallow. It was a complicated process for an eleven year old and a pianist, but the choice finally became clear, and we are now the proud possessors of a beautiful handmade cello for which Josh feels a great affinity. It responds well to him, and he is encouraged further to reach for bigger things.
So today I kept thinking about my life (because sometimes I do that...OK, I do it too much) and was thinking about being an instrument in God's hands. I've always responded to that idea, of course, as a musician. The differences in instruments I've played and what I can really accomplish on each is made abundantly clear, like the concert I played at a nursing home on a spinet without a working pedal (not good) or playing at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square with that amazing 9' Steinway (it responds almost to my thoughts, I swear.) Sometimes I'm afraid I am so caught up in my troubles and trials that I respond to Heavenly Father more like that nursing home spinet or the rental cello Josh tried than I do like the Steinway or the cello Josh chose. He can still use me for what He needs, but I may not be as effective. It's when I allow myself to be open to loving those around me and not focusing on myself, my little corner of the universe, that I really can affect change in the world. I'm far from being a Steinway...but maybe if I keep my heart open, I can continue to grow in my ability to help the world.
2 comments:
Are you really going to leave us guessing what happened to the cello? I feel almost as jipped as I do after testimony meeting when 19 different people stand and say things like,"We experienced the most traumatic week of our lives this week" or, "I didn't think you could go through such hard times as I did this month" without divulging ANY more details. Laughing. Please, expand...
Yeah, well, it's really rather anticlimactic! The picture makes it look much more exciting. Josh leaned his cello against the couch, moved away for a second to get his bow and BAM, the cello fell...
Or maybe he rescued someone from being mugged by hitting the perp with his cello bag over and over again.
You choose :)
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