Living Untethered: Relinquishing Control to God

A friend of mine invited a small group of advanced pianists to work up some songs during this COVID lull and play for each other. It was not a competition just a lovely afternoon spent enjoying the talents of our friends. She also asked her granddaughter to play. When my friend told us her granddaughter would be playing she added, “She is the only one who will be playing at her level”, I was a little put off at first because I had been practicing quite a bit to get my songs ready and I thought I was doing a pretty good job. But then I realized…my level is…used to be…ARCT. I was definitely not playing at that level. I realized then that had I kept up my scales and the songs I had worked so hard to develop 30+ years ago to attain my ARCT, I would still be playing at my level. Why did I not keep playing? Why did I allow my talent to take such a hard dive? Probably because I had achieved my goal and there did not seem to be a need to keep up my skill. I had a family to care for and life t...

It was a fierce storm and Jesus was asleep in the boat. The disciples were in a frantic state when they woke him up. “Teacher, don’t you even care that we’re going to drown?” (Mark 4:38, NLT 1996) Two things I see in this: 1) They attacked his character – “Don’t you even care”. Their attitude was accusatory. I know I’ve said the same words to Jesus in the midst of some chaotic times, when he didn’t rescue me from the storm on my timetable or in the manner in which I hoped to be rescued. 2) They had an attitude of fate – helplessness. “We’re going to drown”. They doubted his ability. I’m also guilty of assuming the worst-case scenario when I can’t see a way through some challenges. Is God truly sovereign? Does he really have all this under control, with his best in mind for me? Or do I feel like we are ‘hooped’? Rather than waking Jesus and saying, “ We’re in way over our heads, we need your help”, they panicked and blamed him for ignoring their plight. Even after hanging ou...

“ Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” ”                          ( John 4:21–24 , NLT) The scene from the mini-series “The Chosen”, where Jesus speaks with the Samaritan woman at the well, arrested me. How does that story apply to our life today? On March 15, 2020, our government announced that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we would no longer be allowed to meet in gr...