December 13, 2024
“Practice these things and live by them so that your progress will be visible to all.” ~ 1 Timothy 4:15 ~ CEB
Rod and I made a point of attending our granddaughter Anne-Sophie’s first band concert Tuesday evening. It was worth every minute of the five-hour round trip drive from Woodstock, VA to Bowie, MD.
Our son warned us ahead of time to be prepared for a 5th grade band performance. I imagined squeaking clarinets, off-key flutes, and drummers off-beat. It was a very different experience. Every student at Holy Covenant Episcopal School learns to play a band instrument before they pass 8th grade. They take it so seriously that the children have a period of band four days a week, and one day of choir.
The first number was a brilliant demonstration of how far the children have come since September. It began with terribly dissonate notes, to learning how to play one note, to learning to play one note with various rhythms, to playing all the notes and various parts. I know that I am proud grandma. But I have to confess that the three numbers the band performed were well beyond my greatest expectation. And the choir was delightful. It was living proof that practice makes, if not perfect, better. If they can play this well after three months, imagine how they will sound next year, and the year after that.
Professional athletes, musicians, doctors, nurses, soldiers, and artists never stop practicing. It is how they obtain and then maintain their skills. Why do we assume that when it comes to our souls and our spiritual well-being, we don’t need to practice, aside from attending church on Sunday. What would happen if we practiced praying or reading the Bible, or doing service to others, or being silent, or paying attention to nature, or being grateful four times a week in fifty-minute segments?
The apostle Paul wrote, “Practice these things, and live by them so that your progress will be visible to all.” Here is a list of spiritual practices: Bible reading, Bible study, Bible memorization, prayer, generosity, fellowship, fasting, silence, simplicity, and celebration. Pick one and practice it, repeatedly. Soon you will be making sweet sounds for God.
Anne
Anne-Sophie with her trombone
Wayfinding 