WEAVING THE MELODY OF LIFE WITH THE FATHER
A child was seen playing very beautiful and rhythmically joyful notes on a piano until she suddenly stopped at a certain part because she had made a mistake that was actually quite simple but still bothered her ears. She repeated the same melody from the beginning and stopped at the same place again. The third time she repeated, she stopped there yet again.
The child began to take a deep breath and repeated her play, but once again, she made the same mistake at the same part. Unwittingly, the child began to lose the real meaning of what she was doing. She tried to play the song again at an even faster tempo, which only made everything more chaotic. Eventually, the child pressed the piano keys very hard, venting her anger and frustration.
Behind the child sat a man who was none other than his father, a professional pianist. The father then approached her and said, “The more you force yourself, the less you will succeed. Now, try playing with daddy, slow down your tempo, watch your fingers, and enjoy your playing.”
The child was silent for a moment but then she played her song again. This time, other fingers were playing along at a very slow tempo, and when she reached the part that always caused trouble, her tiny fingers followed the mighty ones playing beside her. Slowly but surely, she managed to get past the difficult part.
A smile spread across her face as she looked up at her father, who then said, “Okay, good…now speed up a little.” Once again, the beautiful notes sounded without mistake, growing faster and more beautiful, and becoming more colorful. The child seemed to thoroughly enjoy her music playing, and the father smiled, showing his pride.
How often in our daily lives do we become like the child who just runs, trying to do everything on our own, and ultimately becomes frustrated? We feel we must demonstrate our abilities to everyone and thus earn our place at the forefront. We try all ways, and the longer we try, the faster we attempt to go until we reach a point where we can only give up and not even want to try again. We forget that we do not have to go through it alone. We have a very skilled Father who is always ready to help us. We just need to decide to stop and listen to His words; then, we will find solutions for all our difficulties.
Just like the father in the story above, the Father in Heaven says to us, “Why do you try so hard alone? Come close to Me, be calm in Me, listen to My advice, and enjoy the journey with Me.” And when we start to do so, without realizing it, by the time we arrive at the end of our life’s journey, we can look back and see how beautiful the melody we weave when we walk together with Him.
“As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.”(Psalm 103:13 NIV)
Source: Ps. Ancella Gunawan (Global Kids Coordinator)
