(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)
Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. (Psalms 150:5-6)
My older son loves to play the drums. He’s played in a number of bands and contributed in a major way to their success. He plays loud and fast, and the louder and faster it is, the better for him. In performances, there would not be a dry spot left on his T-shirt when it was over. I say “success” meaning two of the bands recorded a CD and gained a small but avid following. It happened three times, that just when things were heating up, Christopher opted out. As the band got more and more serious and demanded more time and sacrifice of other things, Christopher lost interest. He was not after making a career out of drumming; he just did it for the joy of playing. In spite of the casual attitude, I marvel and how accomplished he has become.
What I didn’t know was how good he was becoming in all styles of music. When he’s not playing in a band, he gets his drum “fix” playing on his electronic set with earphones tuned to any kind of song he wants. That’s how he’s learned to play along with the best.
Since getting married, buying a house and pursuing his career, his drums have been put on the back burner. But his electronic set is in his garage and occasionally he will pound on them to his heart’s content. Not long ago, we got to hear him play once again in the worship band of a humble little community church in town.
His wife, Elizabeth, said that in the last few days he’s been drumming all over the house, on tables, chairs, the floor, the bed and the sofa, trying to get his chops back. And it all paid off, surprisingly, in church.
Have you ever tried to sing and cry at the same time? You can’t do it. So for the first two songs I just stood there and took it in. Something welled up inside that prevented me from making a sound. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I wasn’t prepared for this. I was prepared to see my son drum; I wasn’t prepared to be led by him into worship. I wasn’t prepared to hear angels sing and heavenly choirs exalt.
A few things to get from this today:
1. Learn from the masters.
2. Do what you do for the joy of doing it.
3. Practice anywhere and everywhere you can.
4. Do everything to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Actually, when you think about it, he was always playing to the glory of God; it’s just that this time I noticed.
Leave a Reply