I heard a story  that I think you will love. Some people say it is a true story and some say that it is fictional.  Either way – I love it.  And I think it has a powerful analogy for our lives.

As the story goes, a mom and her son were out for an evening to see a concert of the great pianist, Paderewski.  Her son had been taking piano lessons and had not been overly inspired and she hoped that by hearing the music of this famous pianist  he might become more interested.

As they were settling into their seats and the orchestra was tuning their instruments, the mom became completely enthralled as she gazed at the beautiful orchestra hall and all of the interesting people dressed in their finest attire.  Suddenly she heard some laughing and realized that her son had snuck away and was sitting at the Maestro’s piano – playing the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  She was horrified and shot out of her chair and ran behind the curtain to call for her son.

As she reached the stage entrance,  the Maestro appeared before her and said very gently, “It’s ok.  Please leave him.”  The boy continued to play and the crowd was nearing hysterics when the Maestro slowly walked on to the stage. The crowd began to cheer and he raised his hand to signal that they were to stay quiet.

The Maestro quietly came up behind the boy and put his hands on either side of the young boy’s hands. The boy, in his surprise, stopped playing. The Maestro quietly whispered in his ear, “Keep playing…I am right here with you.” The boy began again and the Maestro created a majestic melody with the boy’s simple tunes.

A few times the boy got mixed up and the Maestro said,”Keep going, don’t quit. ” Another time the boy just stopped altogether as this was quite a task for him. The Maestro gently whispered,”Start again…keep going, keep going…we are creating a masterpiece together.”

When they finally finished playing you could have heard a pin drop. The Maestro stood with the boy and held up their hands, and the two of them bowed together. The crowd broke out into a rousing standing ovation.

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There are a lot of takeaways that we can find in this story.  But the thing that stands out to me is how we come to God with our flawed and imperfect lives, and out of that He creates a masterpiece.

”For we are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Jesus Christ, so we can do the good things that He planned for us long ago.”  

– Ephesians 2:10

My starts and stops, missteps and mistakes, my hurts and my disappointments, my failures and my flaws…He takes my messy life and creates beauty out if it.

He orchestrates circumstances, moves different people in and out of my life, and creates new paths for me to walk in.  He works in my life until it becomes more beautiful. 

”We are His masterpiece…and He is the Master.”

I cannot help but wonder – what would have happened if that little boy had the opportunity to continue to train under the Maestro?   Who might he have become and what might he have accomplished?

You and I have that opportunity.

Yet, how often do I miss that opportunity by playing my own rendition with no regard for the Master.  It’s so foolish. It’s like the Maestro offering to continue to teach the little boy and the boy saying, “Nah…I’ve got this.” 

The heavens are composing a masterpiece and we are invited to become a part of it.

When I surrender to God, I become a part of something much bigger than myself.  And THAT – is the place where He does His finest work in me.

It’s so simple and so beautiful. I don’t need to be accomplished and I don’t need to be perfect.  The only thing I need to do is offer up my life –  and He will do the rest.

Our flawed little tune is an essential part of God’s beautiful masterpiece.

Keep going….don’t quit.

“Something beautiful…something good.  All my confusion He understood.  All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife – and He made something beautiful out of my life.”

– Camp song from my younger days…