I chose my own Christmas gift this year. One that surprises even me! It started last Christmas. Gary waited until all the rest of the family’s presents were given and then had our son help him bring a huge box in from the garage that was my present. It was a keyboard! Really? Did I want this? O.K., so I mentioned it once and since my husband listens so well, hmmm….Yikes! What in the world was I going to do with it? It had tons of buttons and gadgets along with the keys. To me, it seemed like a machine that would need to be conquered and it overwhelmed me. I like people; I don’t like machines. (Why should I since my husband can fix most any “machine”, is a computer genius and loves all those mechanical things that elude my brain’s ability?) It stayed covered up in our guest bedroom until August.

But I love music and in my younger days I played guitar and even took lessons for an accordion. I had wanted to play piano once upon a time, but that was ages ago. I never learned to read music. Then things began to change for me this year. My job came to a halt in April and I began pursue a different direction. It wasn’t until August that I started piano lessons. Three weeks into it, I began to realize I could do this. I had tears in my eyes as I drove home from lessons that day, confidence beginning to build in my heart that this was something I actually could do. Much of that is attributed to an absolutely amazing teacher who designed a program to teach adults. She had begun to empower me with what was possible with my love for music and the ‘great ear’ I was created with.  My perspective and thinking began to change. In 4 months’ time, I can read the melody line and play with both hands in 4 different signature keys and you could possibly sing along……if you sing Amish slow! But hey, slow is good with worship music, right?

Sometimes life brings unexpected challenges or circumstances that threaten to overwhelm us. Our perspective makes all the difference. We always have a choice, even if it’s just in our attitude. I weep for the kids I know who have few choices in their lives because of circumstances beyond their control or their parents’ choices.  Even then, they can still choose their heart attitude.

One of my favorite authors, Bill Johnson, puts it this way, “It’s important that we align our heart with who God says we are and not waste time in fear.” My heart wants to see the perspective of heaven and bring that to earth, to my world, in the midst of my own new challenge. This one’s not about machines, and it threatens to shake up my world.  When fear of what I might lose begins to torment me, I have to actively choose to turn my heart towards God and focus on Him and His promises, not on the circumstances. Worry and anxiety are enemies of living in the realm of the supernatural that God intended for me. When I actively choose the kind of thinking that anything is possible at any time and I surrender my thought patterns to believe in what my amazing God has spoken, my heart can trust His goodness no matter what I feel.

So back to my choice of gift this year. This one’s not under the tree or hidden in the garage. It’s another semester of piano lessons. Thanks to a hubby who believed in me and knew I could conquer a ‘machine’! What a great gift!

Copyright © 2015 Nadine Patton.

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