Okay, so John Miles is probably a cooler reference for a
title than Abba which I used in my first post, but I don’t think I’ve reached
the peak of ‘coolness’ for titles that I aspire to yet.
I don’t know about you, but my social media newsfeeds are
full of people trying new things during this ‘lockdown’. People are buying new
exercise equipment and exercising far more than ever before. I know of people
who are taking up new musical instruments, learning languages, doing DIY
they’ve put off for years (me), and doing all sorts of new things to help keep
themselves busy, healthy, and productive during this time. So many people want
to be bakers, that now the only thing you can’t get from the supermarkets, it
seems, is flour and yeast to make bread *sigh*.
Learning new things is a great idea, it’s good for the body,
the brain, and the soul. But recently I’ve been thinking not of doing
completely new things, but doing the things that I always say ‘I don’t have
time for that anymore’. A friend of mine used to tell me whenever I would say
that I didn’t have time for something, that I should re-phrase it as ‘I don’t
make time for’ that thing. There is a helpful distinction here, because we
always find time to do some things, even if they are unhelpful, but right now I
have time. I don’t need to ‘make time’ at the minute. I have lots of it. All of
my usual rehearsals and social engagements are off. As is the weekly parkrun,
trip to the swimming pool, church services (except the virtual kind) etc. so
what I have been asking myself is ‘what do I usually say I have no time to do,
which I now have time to do?’.
For me, this means investing not in learning new things but
investing in my talents. Piano practice is something that I ‘never have time
for’, and now I do, so I’m learning some new pieces, and finishing some new
ones I never properly finished. I have time to accompany my wife playing the
flute, who is an exceptional player (she’s better than me at the piano too!),
whereas normally we don’t have any time until our son goes to bed, at which
point the noise generated would not be helpful. But in this period, we’ve
learnt that he likes to listen and play along with his percussion instruments
whilst we make music together. And after bedtime I can scratch the itch to be a
music tech nerd by practising mixing songs from ‘stems’ you can get online.
I’ve even managed to record some piano for online church worship using a couple
of microphones rather than my usual fancy keyboard.
Jesus tells the parable of the talents recounted in Matthew
25:14-30 and Luke 19:11-27, and it is something I’m sure many of us know well.
In the parable a wealthy man gives his servants some money to look after whilst
he goes away. In the story these units of money are called talents, which is
helpful to the point I want to make. Two of the servants invested in their
talents and grew them, and they were given more. One buried his, worried that
he might lose it if he risked investing it, and he… well let’s just say he
didn’t win the story...
Trying something new is great, and I whole-heartedly
recommend it, but if you find yourself having more time on your hand during
this ‘lockdown’, how can you invest in your own talents to grow them?
Prayer
Father God, thank you for blessing us with a unique array of
talents. Thank you that each of us has the ability to learn new things and
improve those talents we already have. Show us how we can use the time you have
given us to increase our talents for glory of your Name.
Amen.
Challenge
What do you always say you ‘don’t have time for’? Which of
your talents do you neglect, because you’re already very good at them, even
though you could get even better? I would encourage you to invest in the things
that you’re already really good at, as well as learning something new.
Teacher of Music
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