My daughter just completed eight performances of The Music Man. I am very thankful for the opportunity for my daughter to participate in this amazing theatre program and I know I will not always have the opportunity to spend time with her/to support her in this way. I knew it would require parental involvement, but I did not really realize what that would “look like” (i.e. trying to balance the rest of family life along with that) until we got going with rehearsals. Then came tech week and the actual performances. Honestly, it has been exhausting. I do not know how those of you, who do performing arts as a living, do it. I am beyond amazed by the vision, the creativity, the organization, the resources (of all kinds), and the patience it takes to put on such productions of all levels, from the school musicals to the community playhouse stagings, to the world-renowned shows of Broadway. You have my utmost respect!
Anyway, like I said, it has been a lot and the temptation to complain has been great. If I am really honest, I have given in to it on a number of occasions. But today, the Lord opened my eyes to a different perspective. You see, the drive (one way) to the rehearsal is 20-25 minutes when traffic is light, and the stop lights are mostly green. Anything outside of that, well, needless to say, the commute gets longer. When the rehearsals were 1 ½ to 2 hours long, I would just drive her and just work on something while I waited for her. But when they were 3 hours or longer, I would drive home and go back to get her because she is 1 of 6 children with 3 younger than her. One day my husband had a medical procedure in that same city (where my daughter was rehearsing/performing), and due to the timing of everything, I had to make 5 round trips of that 20–25-minute drive. Enough said. You can see it has been a lot of driving.
All the while, I had on the local Christian music station. There are so many songs that I now know by heart because I have listened to them over and over again. Some of them have catchy tunes and are easy to listen to but others have tunes that I am not so crazy about, but they all tell/remind me about the attributes and praiseworthiness of our God. On those drives, I learned that “Sweet James” is probably the attorney I want on my side in the event of an auto accident and that I can go to West Medical for my varicose vein needs. 😊But, most importantly, I have heard songs about how Jesus . . .
…is near to the brokenhearted, faithfully,
…is coming back and we need to be ready,
…never fails us,
…leads us step by step,
…gives strength to bear difficult circumstances,
…loves us; we are important to Him; and we are not too broken for Him,
…knows us by name,
…strengthens our faith when our eyes are on Him,
…is the Word; and God’s Word is precious and powerful.
Between songs and commercials, the station’s disk jockeys shared stories about God moving in supernatural ways in people’s lives have been incredibly uplifting. So, these have been more than just “drives to rehearsals”. These have been precious moments of encouragement by my Savior. He has been pursuing me. He’s been gently rebuking me. He has been encouraging me to go deeper with Him. He has been telling me personally, “Malaika, you can trust Me…with everything”. God never ceases to amaze me by how He can manage the whole universe, solar eclipses and what not, and yet send a “message” to me through a song saying (in His still, small voice), “Malaika I am here. Keep going.”. As S.M. Lockridge would say (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzqTFNfeDnE) and most recently, Cece Winans would say (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB-3Av8RYo8), that’s my King!
Friends, may you be encouraged that when you hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, when someone shares the truth of God’s Word with you or when you hear a song or a story revealing/conveying the attributes of God. Know that He is pursuing you.
Comments