A Day Late and a Guitar Short
written by: Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. ”
When I was in fifth grade I was in Student Council. The student council president was a very cool sixth grader who played the banjo (yes, apparently cool and banjo are not an oxymoron). His playing motivated me to want to learn the guitar. I begged my parents for a guitar for Christmas. They hoped it was just another flash-in-the-pan request. I think they were frustrated when I didn’t let up. They told me I shouldn’t waste my time learning the guitar, “because I can’t sing.” That didn’t deter my request to learn guitar. So, Christmas came and I got a guitar. It was a cheap, plastic toy and unplayable. Message received.
In High School I was told by the music teacher that I had a nice voice, but I didn’t believe her. Even after I joined the choir and was affirmed, I was still scared to death. My junior year a dear friend asked me to sing in the school talent show with her. I wanted to be supportive, but when we auditioned, I was so scared, I ruined it. By my senior year, I tried to overcome the lousy memory and sing in the talent show. I got a standing ovation and won the talent show. On the way home, my mom said, “Gee, now you can sing, but can’t play the guitar.”
I do not share this story to be disrespectful of my mother. Many people have a similar story of creative, artistic dreams being scuttled by well-meaning parents. Julia Cameron, in The Artist’s Way, reminds us, “One of our chief needs as creative beings is support. Unfortunately, this can be hard to come by.” We’ve been taught that if something does not provide a clear monetary path, it is shallow, or a waste of time. Cameron points out, most people are “Raised to believe that the term artist could not apply to him.” We suppress our creative side because we are told, “art won’t pay the electric bill.”
Rather than accept the negative as being realistic, we should reach out to God and see what God has in store for our lives. Perhaps God intended for me to be a guitar playing rock singer, instead of a minister (extraordinarily doubtful). That should be God’s calling; not determined by others who bring their baggage to your life. As much as we parents believe we know what is in our children’s best interest, God is the only one who knows the Divine calling for your child. Trust God to guide your creative calling and the calling of those you love.
