The Pages

A few mornings ago I woke up fearful and anxious. I don’t remember having a bad dream, but troubling thoughts had my waking attention.  I’ve been a woman of faith for many years and I recognized the attack.

I threw off the covers and jumped out of bed.  I stood strong and said out loud, “I am a child of the Most High God!”  Then I went quickly to my piano to play and sing.  I keep my contemporary Christian music close by, so I started playing and singing to a point of surrender, tears of joy, and peace.  I’m ever so grateful for the way music helps me worship and praise my Jesus.

I struggled with my music book though.  The pages were bound by heavy glue at the binding and my pages didn’t stay open as long as they are supposed to.  It was frustrating and a reoccurring problem for my piano playing with this particular book.  So, after I reached my place of peace, I decided to deal with the spine of that book, once and for all.

I got scissors, a razor blade, and a trash can.  I went to work to release the pages from the tightness of the spine.  My goal was to free the sheets of music, so that I could easily move through the pages of notes in a worshipful manner.  It took a while to set apart each page from the others.  When I was done, the pages were still curling.

I had to cut some more of the margins.  As I took the scissors to the pages, the previously curved pages became more manageable.  I laughed to myself as I realized that these pages had muscle memory.

My morning started out rough and it progressed through various activities to settle me down.  Then, it dawned on me. Those trapped music pages was me. I have muscle memory.  I have a stiff spine.  As a fully imperfect human, I can get bound up just like a book. I need The Holy Spirit to help me renew my mind.

One of my favorite scriptures in Romans Chapter 12 talks about the benefits of renewing your mind.

“Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.”

Romans 12:2 CEB

This road of faith is full of richness.  It’s also crucial to be on guard for thoughts that can distract from purpose and mission.

I, like my music book, need to cut away twisted edges and embrace my freedom in Christ.  I appreciate these reminders and I hope they bless you, too.

MT Penny