Road Map

 by Macy Johnson

“Then maidens will dance and be glad,

young men and old as well.

I will turn their mourning into gladness;

I will give them comfort and joy

instead of sorrow.”

(Jeremiah 31:13 NIV)

 

All the way home from church I pouted. I had messed up the choir’s anthem accompaniment and dreaded the Christmas Cantata service just six hours away. Mark Hayes’ “Gloria” had taken a big bite out of my pride. Nine pages of music got the best of me. I had spread the pages out, but was confused and lost my way. Thankfully, recovery was swift.

 

My husband, Jeff, and I sat down to a silent lunch. “Maybe I need to get an iPad and load all the pages in order,” I grunted. Then I realized my next step was to write down the page numbers in the order to be played - create a road map. 

 

I jumped up from the table, rushed upstairs to my studio, and soon discovered I needed nineteen sheets. I made multiple copies of the nine pages and put the sheets in their proper order. I punched holes in the sheets and taped them together before sitting at the piano and playing. Voila!

 

I knew God had given me the answer. I knew He was telling me to back off from the problem and pull out all the steps in my mind. He then showed me how to put the pages in the proper order. It was a piece of cake, a lesson learned that I hope to never forget.

 

The Cantata went off without a hitch and “Gloria” was my favorite piece to play. My mourning turned into joy. Jesus pulled me out of the ditch of despair.

 

I will give Jesus all my sorrows and allow Him to turn them into delight. I hope you will, too!