Abraham...

In the twenty-five years that he had to wait for the birth of Isaac, Abraham must've cried out to the Lord for help in waiting. How could he not? The Lord told him on multiple occasions that his offspring would be numerous and inherit the land of the Canaanites, but after ten or so years, he still had no children. His faith wavered, Ishmael was born, and then another twelve years went by before Isaac, the son of promise was born. We know that Abraham wasn't perfect in his faith and that there were times he failed, but the Lord still had a plan for him that included amazing blessings.

It's the period of waiting that I wonder about. What were his conversations with the Lord like? Did he cry out in distress, wondering if the Lord was ever going to bless him? Did the Lord really have a plan for his life? There are times when I cry out like Jabez did, "Oh Lord, bless me!"

Now I know that the Lord has blessed me, but sometimes in the middle of circumstances, when the going gets tough, it is hard to see many blessings. After a couple of months of not feeling well, I find my exhaustion level getting worse and my patience running out. My emotions easily get out of whack and its sometimes hard to keep a proper perspective on things. As I read through Abraham's life, it is encouraging to see that he wasn't perfect; that when the going got tough, many times he did fail and make a mess of things. It is humbling as well, that the Lord still blessed him in spite of his failures. So Lord help me, because I surely need your mercy and grace.

The Adventures Continues..

Over the past few months as I have been struggling through some major life changes, I have to say that the Lord has been gracious in providing me with enough "distractions" to keep me going. One of them has been playing my viola and prepping for my brother-in-law's recital. Almost nine years ago when I started having hand problems, my then viola teacher suggested that I give up the whole music thing and get a new major. Thankfully the Lord had other plans...but it did mean putting my viola on the back burner and taking up violin instead.

But the Lord had told me that I would play again someday--and it looks like that "someday" has indeed come. So He is faithful no matter the circumstances. And it goes to show me that I need to learn to trust Him more--only He can see the beginning from the end, and only He knows what is best for me. Since He has shown Himself faithful in this area in my life--something I've waited nine years for--it seems that it should be easy to trust Him with all the other areas of my life. Unfortunately, I haven't been the best student in that regard. But thankfully He is a patient teacher.

The recital went well Wednesday and I am more excited to practice now than I was before. I am also excited to see what else the Lord has in store. And even if it is just me and my viola working on Kreutzer and Bach, that is perfectly fine. Today I attended the spring recorder workshop and got to try a bass viola da gamba. I've never played one before, but very quickly found myself "signed up" to learn how to play. There is a couple who is going to lend me an instrument and a book--it sounded like they could use a bass player for a group. So who knows....the adventure continues....

More on Practicing

So I've managed to practice for four days in a row--a good thing since Dan's recital is tomorrow. It may not sound like a huge accomplishment, but I have found that when you're life doesn't revolve around performing (like it did in college), it is hard to actually find the time to practice. Between teaching and just living, it's amazing how much time is taken up! :-) The nice thing is that now when I do practice, I am doing it because I want to and not because I have to. And that in itself makes it worth while!