So our scripture lesson on Sunday was the parable of the wheat and the weeds. Pastor Sarah brought out the main point that it is not our job to judge the people around us. It is only God's job, and He will judge with love, since we all have a little wheat and a little weed in us. (There is that grain and chaff again, Susan) Nobody is all good or all bad.
I think most of us are probably pretty guilty of judging the people around us on a daily basis. I know I am. I'm working on it. I was a lot more judgmental of other people's kids until I had my own--THAT IS FOR SURE! Another point of the sermon was that sometimes a weed grows into a flower and if we yank it out too soon we will never know. In other words--if we set limitations on people we will never know what their potential is or was.
I was thinking about this as I was walking once around my yard tonight to make sure nothing was dying in the heat. I started feeling all high and mighty--because I have been too busy to weed--a little weed by the swing set turned out to be a little purple pansy. Had I been faithful about weeding I would have yanked it out and it never would have bloomed.
I thought about why we don't screen children for Suzuki Piano lessons. And why I never kick a kid out for not practicing. You never know what is going on with these families or with these kids at any given time. There have been more than a few times when I have found out later--that coming to the piano lesson every week was the only stable thing going on in a kid's life.
A student left my studio a few years ago to pursue other musical interests besides piano. This happens and parents should feel no guilt. I sent him a high school graduation card this May. He sent me a note back--thanking me and reflecting that piano had been the start of the fostering of all the talent he was using to pursue his dreams and possibly a career. He was one of the kids who didn't practice so much. Another "non-practicer" went on to study music composition in college. You just never know.
Then I took a quick walk down to the pond to check on the five birch trees I planted in April and the big aspen we tried to transplant from the driveway area. The aspen is alive! (DON'T ASK ABOUT THE DRIVEWAY) I only found four little birch trees because the fifth one had been pulled down to the ground by the evil grapevine that thrives on our property. The weeds won and threatened to kill the beautiful little tree. I tore every little tentacle of the vine off the tree--there were about 100--and the four foot high tree sprang back up. Anyone who fights a bad weed will start to think of it as evil. I guess there is another metaphor in there there doesn't relate to Suzuki piano. I'll have to ask Pastor Sarah about that.
In any case. . . not judging folks has a lot to do with compassion and seeing the weeds in ourselves. There go I but for the grace of God. I'm glad none of my teachers yanked me out.
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