Wishing to encourage her young son's progress on the piano, a mother
took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the
mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to
greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the
concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way
through a door marked "NO ADMITTANCE.
When the houselights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the
mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was
missing. Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the
impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little
boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out "Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star." At that moment, the great piano master made
his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's
ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing."
Then leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and
began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to
the other side of the child and he added a running obligatio.
Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a
frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. And
the audience was mesmerized.
Whatever our situation in life and history--however outrageous,
however desperate, whatever dry spell of the spirit, whatever dark
night of the soul-- God is whispering deep within our beings, "Don't
quit. Keep playing. You are not alone, Together we will transform
the broken patterns into a masterwork of my creative art. Together,
we will mesmerize the world with our song of peace.
"FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT." II Corinthians 4:7
© E. Elliot 1997 all
rights reserved
I have been told that this was
written by Elizabeth Elliot, and that we had permission to post it.