Making Music

Our younger son, Turner, who is 7, began taking piano lessons about 3 months ago. Neither my wife Tonya nor I play any musical instrument so we are excited about this opportunity for him.

Last Sunday, Turner participated in his first-ever piano recital. He did well and was pleased with his performance (though watching him bow to the audience before and following the playing of his piece of music made us all smile- 7 year old boys in East Tennessee don't bow a lot).

As you would expect, the first-year students like Turner played basic pieces such as the piece he played, Bamboo Leaves. But as the recital went along, the level of skill increased dramatically as those with several years of experience played intricate pieces from memory.  I sat watching and thinking that the ability to play piano was as unknown to me as molecular biology or quantum physics. Just way beyond my understanding. And also that some 4 year-olds were better musicians than me.

But one thing I picked up on quickly, some people were playing notes while others were making music.

Here's The Point: 
For the students who had put in the time to practice and memorize the notes, the playing of those individual notes had become melodic. It had become to them a piece of music and not notes on a page.

Much like life. Our individual daily experiences may not seem all that impressive as singular events but the collection of our daily moments, over time, becomes our life.

And just like at the recital when effort and care are invested, individual moments over time become a performance...of a lifetime.