One Day

Have you ever listened to a musician perform a piece of music so well, that you found yourself holding your breath as you listened, and when the piece was finished, you felt robbed?  Such music that could only come from a lifetime of practice, dedication, and genuine passion?

Have you ever seen a piece of art, that astounded you, inspired you, and made you long for...  something?

Have you ever read a book so thought provoking, that you find yourself looking at life through a completely different lens and could help but share at least a quote or two with someone else, if not insist that they read the entire work?

Have you ever watched a skilled dancer perform astonishing feats with such poise and control, that you found yourself looking up local dance studios, convinced for at least the next 24 hours or so that there must be some way you could fit lessons into your busy schedule?

I have.

I want to play music so lovely that the angels pause to listen and wonder at the beauty Heaven ordained.

I want to paint with colors so vivid and a message so clear that all who look are drawn instinctively into worship.

I want to write words that grab you like a tragedy and re-aline your gaze, bringing the things that truly matter into focus, and freeing you to run toward Love.

I want to dance with a grace that caresses each moment, like a flame that shimmers and grows with an undying energy and passion, as if somehow to offer my spirit back to He Whose breath brought it forth.

If you find yourself, like me, amid this enigma of conflicting desires, wanting one moment to give your all in one way and the next in another,

If you ponder at the seeming mismatch of your talents and aspirations, and wonder what you might have done differently,

If you find yourself settling for a little of this and a very little of that - all welling up to an offering of slight means indeed,

If you feel life slipping away from you quicker than you can make it count and merely sigh at the things you wish you could do,

Then take comfort in the promise.

  "But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

One day we will know why we desired these things all along. With all constraints gone, we will learn to realize them fully and fan them into flame for eternity before an Audience of One, in Whom we shall finally find our true joy.  To God be the glory shall be the beat of our hearts as we compose, create, dance, orate, sing, write, perform, and recite.  No more regrets.  No more what-ifs.  

Only a clear purpose and a singular focus.