From a Flute

My daughter came home from school and informed me of an assignment:  I was to play the flute for her choir.  She had eagerly volunteered me for the job.  (Don't you love it when your child does that?)

For a typical flute, which I normally play, this would not be a big deal.  Instead, her teacher wanted a Native American flute.  I do own one.  My husband gave it to me for my birthday a few years ago.  But I have not yet learned how to play it.  And therein lies the problem.

In keeping with the style of the flute, my husband made a beautiful cedar case for it.  But it has been sitting on my shelf for two years, scarcely touched.  It took me several days just to locate the instructions and the fingering chart, buried under all my other music.  

I've been practicing for a week now and I think I've mastered the notes, but it is not yet comfortable.  I have to really think about what I am doing.  However, I do love to play it.  This choir assignment is just the stretch I needed to put it to use.  

This unusual flute is a picture of what God is doing in my life right now.  I'm very tempted to 'remain in my case' where it is comfortable and I don't have to be stretched.  But this instrument was not meant to sit pretty in a case.  That is not its purpose.

 

Even the hinges have been crafted out of wood.

I've been recently asked to do another assignment, of a spiritual nature, which will take all the breath of the Spirit within me.  It challenges me and goes beyond my natural ability.  But being asked is drawing me out of the case and into blessing the lives of others in a way I never dreamed.

For several years, I have wanted to shepherd the women of our church beyond friendships and social gatherings.  It seems like God is granting my desire, but not in the comfortable way I expected.  I'll be honest.  It scares me.  It's risky.  But this new season of life has been full of surprises which have pushed me to depend on Christ.

In order to create a melody, the finger patterns, air pressure, and tone all coincide to produce a beautiful sound.  Likewise, as the wind of the Spirit flows through my life, I pray for wisdom and sensitivity, for the right tone, that the blessing might be music to those who hear.   

I can now play three songs, and it is so . . . fun!  The choir assignment does not loom so big anymore.  Likewise, as I've practiced the presence of God, deepening my faith in Him, I can face what is ahead, not with fear, but with sheer joy.  May God be praised!