Dear team,
Right now I am rubbing the tip of my left index finger, inspecting the progress of my callous. I detect the beginning of callouses, and feel a twinge of joy- feeling quite proud of myself- it is the joy of tangible progress! You see, I recently made the resolve that if I have the passion for bringing guitars to Uganda, I need to be practically equipped for all that that requires: one such thing, as you may have guessed, is calloused fingers. (Without building up callouses, it is incredibly painful on the fingertips to play a steel-stringed guitar, and I would not be able to make it through more than one song.)
Out of that resolve, I committed to practicing on a steel string guitar every day from now until the trip, in the hopes of doing all I can in the little time I have to toughen up my dainty woman fingers. It reminds me of Paul's words: "I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." (1 Cor 9:27). I do not want to be disqualified for leading worship because I did not prepare myself for the trip by toughening up my weak parts, and training up my "rusty" parts, i.e. my fingers (and musical practice in general, of course).
Calloused fingers may seem like a silly or small thing, but I need them to be my best for Uganda. Good intentions will not get me through hours of teaching guitar with soft hands- it's not gonna happen! I have a simple choice: I can tough it up now and enjoy myself there, or "put it off" now and not be able to give/participate as much there.
We all have things like this: tools in the toolbox. And I suspect I am not the only one whose tools need polishing/sharpening. What is it like for you? Since it is always easier to get through discipline with the support, accountability, and encouragement of friends, I think it would be cool to use this post to share our different challenges we must rise to to be our best for the trip. I invite you to "comment" on this post, and share what, if any, thing you will/have committed to do in order to have yourself and your "tool" prepared for the challenges we will face in Uganda. (This may be spiritual or material/physical.) If you need time to ponder, that is ok! I look forward to hearing from you!
Love always,
Megan
PS) Way to go, Kermit, for beginning to sharpen your gift of sharing your testimony (on the blog). For all of us, practice makes perfect! I love you guys!
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6 comments:
Megan try making a few disciples crosses that will build up those calouses really fast, jk keep up te good work.
Thanks
Kermit
I have decuded that I have too many guitars, so I will take one to Uganda to give away. My fingers are already tough. I will bring it to the next meeting.
Doug
Thanks so much, Doug! Our first guitar donation! I really appreciate it, and look forward to meeting the guitar!!
PS) Adding to my original note:
The phrase "No pain, no gain" applies, and not just to guitar playing but being a Christian too. What do you think?
True oh so true
Kermit
I cant remember my sign in so I am under anonymous:-)
Excellent point Megan! By polishing your skills and preparing your toolkit you will be most ready for all God has for you. That's great advise for the team.
Melissa
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