Private Lessons

Have you ever had a private teacher? A tutor, maybe. Someone who challenged and tested your skills and techniques in a certain area, perhaps made you think outside the box. Maybe your "tutor" was there to reinforce basic skills. But maybe, like me, you've had a private teacher who pushed you beyond what you ever thought possible.

In sixth grade, I started learning how to play the flute. I was a natural and I excelled quickly beyond my peers, and I began private lessons almost immediately. I practiced for hours every day thanks to an earnest desire God had given me, and a seemingly natural gift that grew by leaps and bounds on a daily basis. Through the years, a number of private teachers challenged me with new skills and techniques regularly, and pushed me toward growth and development as a flutist. I later went on to college and earned my degree in Music Education.

If you've ever experienced this type of mentorship, you know well the relationship I'm describing. My private teachers were crucial to my growth as a musician and eventually as a teacher. Without them, I would never have grown beyond the little girl reading the fingering chart on my front porch, trying to determine which keys on the instrument were which keys in the diagram.

I still have a private teacher. Only He's not teaching me how to be a flutist. He's teaching me daily how to be more like Him. Much like my flute teachers did, God challenges me regularly to be better, try harder, push to the next level. And I'm so glad He does. Without His persistent encouragement, I would never grow beyond the life of that spiritual baby. Thankfully, God is always challenging my thinking, my efforts, and my methods on this journey to freedom.

In the last two days, God has revealed to me the next stage of my development, the next step I need to take in this journey to freedom; like any good teacher, He has set a goal for me. This next step is one He has decided I'm ready to take on, based on my progress thus far. He has not only prepared me and given me all the basic skills I need in order to build this new one, he has measured my skill and finds me ready. Yes, I'll admit that looking at this new sheet music is intimidating, but my God has prepared me. No good teacher gives their student new work that they're completely untrained for. Likewise, the student must sometimes take a leap, trusting the teacher's input and putting aside feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy. I'm choosing today to trust the teacher.