Three Times Ain’t Enough
written by: Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”
It is astonishing to think of all the amazing and talented individuals whose God-given talent was never recognized. If Rembrandt figured he would only be as good as his first artistic attempt, we would never have The Return of the Prodigal Son or any of his other masterpieces. Far too many of us quit too soon. Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way offers, “Remember that in order to recover as an artist, you must be willing to be a bad artist. Give yourself permission to be a beginner. By being willing to be a bad artist, you have a chance to be an artist, and perhaps, over time, a very good one.” As we get older, the expectations get higher. It is hard, at 60 years-of-age, to play the piano like a five-year-old. But if you stick with it, soon you will be a good player.
We should try hard not to belittle our early efforts. The same is true of our spirituality. I had someone admit to me one time, “I tried praying, but nothing happened, so I just quit. If there is a God, he doesn’t listen to me.” My only follow-up question was, “how often did you pray?” The person looked at me with a confused look on her face and said, “Three times!” I just shook my head. Prayer, like painting, isn’t perfect the first three times you do it. Besides, perfect prayer isn’t necessary for God. It is all about doing it regularly and trusting God.
Cameron affirms, “All too often, it is audacity and not talent that moves an artist to center stage.” It takes audacity to believe that if you practice 10,000 times, you will become a talented mandolin player, a terrific sculptor, or a trusting person of prayer. The prayer doesn’t get better, but the person praying is transformed by the practice. When a mandolin player starts, the left-hand doesn’t feel comfortable on the fretboard. When the person begins the way of prayer, it too feels uncomfortable until you perform it over and over.
Today, offer God this quote from Henry David Thoreau, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.” Try something you’ve always dreamed of doing. Don’t listen to the negative inner voice saying, “that is silly,” or, “you are too old.” If you really want it, give it your commitment, and invite God to bless your prayer. If you bring prayer to your activity, you will recover the artist within and move from bad to competent, to maybe even amazing. Just start, and keep trying more than three times.
