The Master Musician & Master Craftsman = Restoration of Things....and People

"Before & After" photos of a very used, scratched and abused piano bench -- the accompanying piece to the baby grand piano that my grandson had been praying for. Neither piece is new, but when Payton plays it, it sounds like a Steinway -- at least in this Nana's ears. And his Mom restored the piano to beautiful condition and it has a prominent place now in the Wallace Family home.

But, that poor piano bench looked beyond hope. Staci's plans were to go out yesterday and buy a new bench, but, I told her we could "restore" that damaged and pitiful bench to look brand new. We set out to buy some foam, fabric, paint, and stapler gun, and whoa la -- in just a little while -- that's what you see here.

The piano looks and sounds great, and its bench looks great, too. It just took the touch of a musician and the craftsmanship of two "crafty" women!
That makes me think of those of us who had been used, abused, or unused and neglected -- forgotten and beyond hope. But then along came the Master Musician and made a beautiful symphony of our lives.....and He restored us and turned all our brokenness into something of beauty. And, better than just "restored".....we were made to be BRAND NEW. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"

This beautiful "Gaither" song explains it perfectly:

And He made something beautiful, something good,
All my confusion, He understood,
All I had to offer Him, was brokenness and strife,
But He made something -- beautiful of my life.

Lord, Please Give Me Patience....NOW!

Our generation seems to have little patience for waiting. Road rage is seen when there's someone moving way too slow in traffic. And there's those times when we're put on hold on a telephone call, or when we're placed in yet another queue trying to get to the right customer representative. We talk about slow Internet connections -- waiting for a page to load often feels like an eternity. And, I don't think I've ever encountered the long time wait there is at the traffic lights here in Washington. It seems the demand for instant results has seeped into every corner of our lives. We sacrifice eating healthy food by eating at "FAST" food restaurants -- all too often.

And, the fact is -- we do need MORE patience....and we need it NOW! No question about it, patience isn't easy. It takes practice. And, really takes a lot of inner strength to trust that this delay or situation is a needed hold-up so that I will keep us on pace with God's perfect timing on all that concerns me.

If we allow impatience to cause stress and anger and anxiety, then we're not hearing the "music" or the "symphony" -- the beauty of life going on around us. The music that is in our lives can only be fully recognized, experienced, and played out when we breathe, enjoy, let go and stop rushing around -- then patience and enjoyment of the moment will pervade our lives.

"But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:4 -- Oh Lord, I desire that patience has its perfect work in me. I want to enjoy YOUR symphony that is all around me!

Maestro (Master Conductor) Make My Life a Symphony!

Have you heard an orchestra tuning up before a concert? How could anything beautiful come from what sounds so disharmonious and chaotic. But, then, it all changes! The Maestro appears and you hear a tap, tap, tap of his baton. And, voila, suddenly the chaos turns to the most melodic, rhythmic, harmonious, sweet sounding and beautiful music. The fact is, if there were no Maestro, the players would be doing their own thing that just resulted in NOISE. Aw, but when the Maestro is leading – a spectacular symphony is heard. And, here’s some really good news. Our lives can be a beautiful symphony of harmony and melodic music – if we depend, rely, and fully follow the direction of our Master Conductor. When we follow His lead, He will turn the chaos and disharmony of our life into a beautiful symphony of peace. That music will be a sweet, sweet sound in His ears and in the ears of those in our life. I think of the prayer of St. Francis as I type this post, "Lord, make me an "instrument" of your peace!" May peace be the song in our heart, in our mind, and in our mouth as we follow our Maestro's lead.