when life changes keys on you

Sometimes you just don’t understand what God is doing. You think you’re going one direction, walking with Him, talking with Him, and all of a sudden He veers you off into a completely different place.

Me, I sit there for a while kinda dazed, thinking, “But, I thought we were doing that over there, Poppa. What’s up with this here?”

I imagine He chuckles a little – not unkindly, but in a love-you-so-much-and-can’t-wait-for-you-to-see-the-whole-plan kind of way. He doesn’t always show the “why” of where I am now but reassures my heart it’s no mistake.

There have been several moments like this for me in the last couple weeks. I can’t say I’ve had happy thoughts every second.  Life changes are hard. Setting a new course hurts a bit sometimes. But the happy refrains and the sudden key changes and the stumbly bits are all part of our life song.

Like Billy says in Almost Heaven,

The Lord gives us all a song to play, and at first we just play it the best we know how and try to work on it and make it better. Most of the time it sounds awful. But there comes a point where we realize it’s not really our song to begin with, and if we’ll follow the lead of the one who wrote the tune in the first place, we’ll come out all right.

My musician’s heart likes that – the picture of following the lead of the One who wrote the tune in the first place.

I don’t know where you are in your life song today. A major part of the tune, a minor section, or a twisty key change of in-between.

No matter what the music sounds like, may you follow the lead of the One who wrote your tune in the first place. MAy you trust His grace is strong enough to stand on throughout the entire symphony.

And, may God help you sing whatever song he has put on your heart to sing.