Mar
29
2012
The Drummer
Posted in Evangelism 2 Comments
I was emptying the dishwasher this morning…and I was remembering.
As my children were growing up, I used to choose one word that described something special they did…something that set them apart from each other.
The word would change as their interests changed…but no two words…or two children…were ever the same.
A word for my youngest son was: drummer.
When he was little, he would want to help me unload the dishwasher.
I would watch him sort the forks and spoons and then play with all the unbreakable things.
I had casserole dishes with glass lids.
They each had a small glass knob on the top so that you could remove the hot lid easily.
If I happened to put the lid on the counter upside down, it rested on the knob, which made the lid wobble.
That wobbling caught my son’s eye.
I watched him stare intently at the moving lid.
It wobbled back and forth, slowly at first, then gaining speed, until it seemed to wear itself out. It would finally stop. He would gently hit the corner of the lid so it would wobble again. Over and over, he would do that…just watching.
I watched his little face and then watched his hands.
He copied the sound he heard, and drummed on the counter, as the lid wobbled.
I could not believe that his little hands could imitate what his little ears heard…exactly.
Just like any mother, who discovers a new skill in one of her children, I wanted others to see it. His sisters and brother were brought in and sure enough, he did it again.
They tried, but they couldn’t do it.
Neither could I.
Get the lid, Mom…please !!!
If a glass lid was not in the dishwasher, he would ask me to get one from the cabinet so he could play it.
A parent of a drummer knows that anything with a hard surface is a potential drum.
He drummed on everything, in fact his first drum was a large oatmeal container with a wooden spoon. He graduated from lids and counters and kitchen tables to a single snare drum, and finally, his own drum set.
God gave him the gift of music and an incredible musical ear.
He gives his gift back to God when he plays on the worship team at college and on the worship team at the church he attends there.
I love when he comes home from college, goes outside under a tree, and plays his guitar.
I love to listen to him play the drums here at home…thinking back to a time when there was a “no drum playing after 7:00” deadline.
There were chores to do…and homework to complete.
That time is long gone.
We have to be careful of what we imitate.
Wobbling lids are harmless, but many things in our culture are not worthy of imitation.
What are we following?
What has captured our eyes and our ears?
What demands our attention so completely that we watch it intently?
What do we practice over and over until we have mastered it?
Paul spoke of this in his letter to the Corinthians.
Therefore, I urge you to imitate me. (1 Corinthians 4:16)
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)
No matter who we are, we are being watched.
If we are Christians, we are being watched even more closely.
No matter who we are, we are imitating something.
If we are Christians, we need to be imitating Him.
We are uniquely created with amazing gifts…no two are alike.
The gift may not be understood by others.
What matters most is that, whatever we do, we must work at it with all our heart, as working for the Lord not for men. (Colossians 3:23)
We ask our Heavenly Father to help us use the gifts He has given us…excellently.
When others watch our lives, and follow our example, they are not following us, but rather, they are following Him.
We give back to Him the gift He gave to us.
Like any Father, He wants to show our new found gift to His other children.
A gift, from His Hand, is worthy of imitation.
Gina, well said…we all need to give back to Him what He has given us. We so need to review not only our actions but our thoughts.
Glory to God and Him alone.
Bobbie,
You and I both know how important it is to encourage the gifts we see in each other.
Kingdom encouragement…for His Glory.
I pray for you and your husband as you minister to others in His Name.