I discovered it missing late one night, when I opened the metronome case to check a tempo...and the metronome would only click back and forth at one pace--a frenetic 220 beats per minute.
The movable weight which slows the tempo was missing. I recalled suddenly the moment I had found the case open, months ago, on top of the piano, and without noticing the missing piece, had moved it then to a higher shelf, out of reach of a curious 3-year-old.
That weight had been lost for a looooong time.
Yesterday I showed the metronome to my youngest kids, in the faint hope that one of them might know where it was.
No, they all shook their heads. They hadn't seen it.
***
Last night, Bantam9 appeared at my elbow as I was reading.
"Say thank you," he instructed.
"Thank you," I replied.
I looked deep into his solemn blue eyes. Then a smile spread across his face as he held out his hand and opened it. There on his palm, was the weight!
"I found it in a box when I was looking for my Lego guy's helmet," he said. "Aren't you happy?"
I was thrilled.
I held the tiny piece of metal in my hand, which would transform my useless metronome into a precision timepiece.
***
What weights do I want to throw off, to be free of--that might actually be part of who God created me to be...of what God is calling me to do? Feeding a family day after day, doing laundry, cleaning floors, helping with math problems--waste, or weight? Accepting limitations of time, money, energy, health, circumstances--burdens, or boundaries?
What weight is missing from my life? Time spent in Scripture reading and prayer? Too often, I skim through those at the same hectic 220 beats per minute as the rest of my day. The weight of care for the sick, the widowed, the orphaned, the destitute? It is so easy not to look farther than the needs of my own family. The weight of silence? Two hundred twenty beats per minute is a lot of noise, believe me.
I am so grateful for the lost weight that is found.
I thank God for the precise weights He has given me to bear. May He add precisely the weight I may need. And may I function as He intends me to.
9 comments:
Ouch (but, you know, in a good way).
Thanks. I really needed to read this tonight.
What a great post!
Amy
Hmm. Very well said. Certainly something to meditate on.
Stewart preached Sunday on how we all feel displaced in some way and how God uses that to help us grow closer to Him. Well that's my quick summary, to hear more go to: www.churchrez.org/audio/sermons The weights is another way to look at...a helpful reminder for me today. Thanks Jeanne!
I like your reflection! Such good thoughts to ponder on - and I sometimes feel the same way about my rushed devotions and study time. Thanks for sharing.
Happy Anniversary!!
Your blog has been a blessing and a source of inspiration and joy. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
lovely.
i was just revisiting kathleen norris' quotidian mysteries today. reminding myself of the importance of those daily weights.
thank you for sharing!
Thank You. I'm printing this out.
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