From “Daily Devotional” March-May 2010 The Dove
March 5
“He wanted to conduct, but his styles didn’t work. During soft passages he’d crouch extremely low. For loud sections he’d leap into the air, even shouting to the orchestra. His memory was poor. Once he forgot he’d instructed the orchestra not to repeat a section of music. During the performance, when he went back to repeat that section, they went forward, so he stopped the piece, shouting. ‘Stop! Wrong! That will not do! Again! Again!’ For his own piano concerto, he tried conducting from the piano bench. At one point he jumped from the bench, thumping the candles off the piano. At another concert he knocked over a choirboy. During one long, delicate passage he jumped high to cue a loud entrance, but nothing happened because he’d lost count and signaled the orchestra too soon. As his hearing worsened, musicians tried to ignore his conducting and get their cues from the first violinist. Finally they pled with him to go home and give up conducting which he did. Who was he? Ludwig van Beethoven. The man many consider to be the greatest composer of all time, learned that nobody can be the master of all trades. The Bible says, ‘We have different gifts, according to the grace [divine enablement] given us.’ So recognize and develop your gift. That can be intimidating, especially if you’ve spent your life looking for approval from people who’ve none to give you. Stop making your life an ongoing struggle to be something you weren’t meant to be. God made you who you are; when you try to be somebody else the best you can ever be is number two. So be yourself; after all, who’s more qualified?
March 5
“He wanted to conduct, but his styles didn’t work. During soft passages he’d crouch extremely low. For loud sections he’d leap into the air, even shouting to the orchestra. His memory was poor. Once he forgot he’d instructed the orchestra not to repeat a section of music. During the performance, when he went back to repeat that section, they went forward, so he stopped the piece, shouting. ‘Stop! Wrong! That will not do! Again! Again!’ For his own piano concerto, he tried conducting from the piano bench. At one point he jumped from the bench, thumping the candles off the piano. At another concert he knocked over a choirboy. During one long, delicate passage he jumped high to cue a loud entrance, but nothing happened because he’d lost count and signaled the orchestra too soon. As his hearing worsened, musicians tried to ignore his conducting and get their cues from the first violinist. Finally they pled with him to go home and give up conducting which he did. Who was he? Ludwig van Beethoven. The man many consider to be the greatest composer of all time, learned that nobody can be the master of all trades. The Bible says, ‘We have different gifts, according to the grace [divine enablement] given us.’ So recognize and develop your gift. That can be intimidating, especially if you’ve spent your life looking for approval from people who’ve none to give you. Stop making your life an ongoing struggle to be something you weren’t meant to be. God made you who you are; when you try to be somebody else the best you can ever be is number two. So be yourself; after all, who’s more qualified?
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