SYMPHONY OF LOVE AND GRACE

Photo by Harold Kinnel

Created by Sherry Long

     Have you ever known a professional pianist, swimmer, skater or vocalist?  The one thing I have noticed about anyone that is considered a professional is the extreme level of work that goes into their talent.  I have never known an olympist that sat on the sofa reading a magazine and never practicing.  There are long hours of training, diet and exercise that goes into their lives in order to produce perfection.

     However, I have noticed many people wondering why God hasn't come through for them.  After all, they say,

     "If I am God's child shouldn't he give me what I need?"

     I'm afraid even the best of many religious leaders have a distorted view of who God really is.  We want to have the perfect tempo and vibrato but we don't want to go through the extensive exercises to achieve that perfection.

     Many times in our lives the Lord knows, in order to get the harmony revealed in our lives, he must allow us to be broken.

     During this process, he kneels down and touches your life and redeems the pieces that are worthwhile and sweeps away all the pieces that were holding you back from what he intended for your life.

As we kick, scream and complain, he patiently waits for us to be molded and shaped into an instrument for His glory.

     Many people pick up the broken pieces the Lord has left behind and insist on them being inserted back into their lives.  In doing this we cause the perfect plan God has for our lives to be distorted.

     When you go through major trials, does this mean that the Heavenly Father doesn't love you?  No, it just means that he is willing to allow you to go through extreme training and exercise tips to produce in and through you:

"The Perfect Song."

Lord as you shape me, help me see

Your hand is building a perfect me.
When all the verses are filled with pain
Break forth in me a glorious refrain.

It's through the pains, these strings are tuned

My heart is changed, my life renewed.
May I embrace them instead of resist
So you can produce your melodious gift.  

Help me to release these strings to you,

So the melody and harmony comes forth anew.  

Let them flow like a symphony of love and grace
Transcending from me a song praise.
By Sherry Long

(Dedicated to Barbara Cullum Masters)