Kit-Kat

It is pretty amazing as I looked back at my life in church. Being raised up in a traditional setting of a Presbyterian church, then moving on to the day when my cousin brought me to a rather different church. The very first day I attended his church was nothing short of an in-your-face miracle. I was 13 then.

I consider myself blessed and very fortunate to be in the group I am in now. It wasn't the same in the past, when I was mixing with people who do not understand the circumstances surrounding me. We were all innocent and ignorant of so many things going on. We did what we thought and knew was right, but our eyes still weren't fully opened. It came with age and experience. As I grew up and looked back, it amazes me at how God has worked in my life over the years. I've always thought I could only have friends who are musicians, or at least understand what music is all about. It seemed to me that musicians can only fully relate their thinking and be understood by a fellow musician. I looked at my family and can't help drawing the link to that fact. All the musicians in my family married another musician, or somebody who works in the music scene. A couple in my current group consists of a trombonist and flautist.

Maybe there's a need to be understood. Maybe it's easier to relate to somebody who is in the same field of work as you. (What about lawyers?) Maybe it's the fact that your other half has to understand why you have to spend 3 hours alone in a room tearing your heart out with your other other half? Maybe it's so that he/she can understand why you can't go out on a date because you need to practice. (But seriously, get a life.)

This disconnection with the rest of the world (non-musicians) was detrimental to my social and spiritual well-being in church for a couple of years. Until I attended this group. It is... different. I figured, the problem might have been me all along.

But that's a another story for another day.

Taking a day off from practicing last Friday was probably the best decision I made in the past week. Practicing til the cows come home was taking its toll on my hands and sanity. I figured, if it's not getting better by practicing a whole lot more, might as well take a step back and think things through. I got back on Saturday and the feeling was great. My thumb doesn't hurt anymore, I was relaxed, and the sense of positivity was back. Maybe the fact that I was back home helped a bit. Spending 3 nights out of 4 in camp is depressing. Going out for dinner once in a while is a good change of pace, but otherwise, it's boring. So, if things are looking grim during practice, and you feel that things are not improving the harder you try, take a deep breath and a step back, because a break might be all you need. (No, kit-kat is not endorsing this.)