Seeketh So To Do
To my son,
In one of my favorite talks Brother Brad Wilcox spoke about how taking piano lessons is like the gospel. He said this: “Christ’s arrangement with us is similar to a mom providing music lessons for her child. Mom pays the piano teacher. How many know what I am talking about? Because Mom pays the debt in full, she can turn to her child and ask for something. What is it? Practice! Does the child’s practice pay the piano teacher? No. Does the child’s practice repay Mom for paying the piano teacher? No. Practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom’s incredible gift. It is how he takes advantage of the amazing opportunity Mom is giving him to live his life at a higher level. Mom’s joy is found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used—seeing her child improve. And so she continues to call for practice, practice, practice.” Does that sound familiar? Our life here is like learning the piano—the Savior has paid for the opportunity for us to learn, and He asks us to practice and learn as much as we can. He continued by explaining how someone might respond to him: “'But Brother Wilcox, don’t you realize how hard it is to practice? I’m just not very good at the piano. I hit a lot of wrong notes. It takes me forever to get it right.’ Now wait. Isn’t that all part of the learning process? When a young pianist hits a wrong note, we don’t say he is not worthy to keep practicing. We don’t expect him to be flawless. We just expect him to keep trying. Perfection may be his ultimate goal, but for now we can be content with progress in the right direction.” In our work to master a talent and in our efforts to become like the Savior, we need practice and it is okay to make mistakes. The Lord is more concerned with the direction we are headed and the intents of our heart than with our specific accomplishments.
Love,
Dad
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