After all, Christ never said, go and chose the Cross that you would most like to carry and follow Me. He said, there will be a Cross there – so pick up the one I left for you and carry it and follow Me.
When I was a little girl, I learned to play the piano. The funny thing about the piano – or any musical instrument – is that it seems so easy to do from a distance. But when you get up close and personal with the work of the piano – so to speak – it is an incredibly mundane thing to do. While the music in a performance may sound exciting and moving and amazing, the preparation for that performance is often the work of weeks, or months or even years. And – even then – despite all the best intentions and all the best work in the world, on the day of the performance all that hard work could amount to nothing. The pianist could be distracted for a moment or feeling a little under the weather, or nervous or sick or worried and all of these things could throw the performance off and cause the pianist to perform under their best performance.
Sometimes, even just playing a different piano and experiencing the difference in the touch of the keys can cause the pianist to feel very uncomfortable and can negatively impact their performance. I remember preparing over the course of more than a year for a piano exam, only to be so nervous on the day that my fingers slipped over the keys, and trills that had sounded perfect previously were suddenly clunky and a little bit stressed.
And I have been thinking about this today. You see, the other day a loved one – who is very ill – received some news that was not good news. It was – so to speak – a blow. And when we heard this news, it was a moment to stop and reflect and to stop and think about God and His Goodness – because it is incredibly hard to feel the goodness of God when one is in the throes of sadness and even despair.
And it seemed to me that I live a pretty comfortable life. When people asked Christ what they should do to achieve Heaven, He clearly told them to TAKE UP YOUR CROSS AND FOLLOW ME… That was what He said. He did not say, pick up a lollypop and skip along the way. He said, there will be a Cross, and you must carry it and walk as I have walked. And I have been thinking about that today. You see, in a blessed life, these terrible tragic moments are the Cross. They are certainly not a Cross that I would voluntarily chose, but they are the Cross that was left for me. After all, Christ never said, go and chose the Cross that you would most like to carry and follow Me. He said, there will be a Cross there – so pick up the one I left for you and carry it and follow Me.
And it occurs to me that this blow – this terrible news is just an opportunity to practice carrying Crosses. Because without that practise I will never be able to move on.
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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