did i ever tell you guys i used to teach marching to marching band and drum corps? (hang with me, this will hopefully make sense in the end) it's lots harder than it looks, and takes soooo much discipline. for each band there are a few to several drill techs, and while the kids are marching their show over and over during rehearsal, the techs run around and instruct them, teaching them how to march, changing postures, teaching about foot placement, teaching about horn angles, direction of steps...everything has to be perfect, and there are many, many aspects. there is a lot of hard discipline that's involed in this. we (the drill techs) would push the kids so hard, drilling them over and over all day, sometimes for several hours a day, out in the hot florida sun. also, the music techs were pushing them too with their musical aspects, sound, breathing, notes, phrases, etc.
at the beginning of the season, the kids would be whining and complaining because we were working them so hard. there was this one band that i worked with one year, and it was a big band, about 250 kids all told, and we pushed them hard. they had a record of doing well at competitions (in florida, band competitions is a big thing). so me and the other techs were on these kids like white on rice, yelling at them, making them do push-ups and run laps, continually tweaking their performance, all through practice, it was very hard on the kids, and on us, actually...but as the season progressed, we started to see the kids strengthening themselves and remembering our instructions better. this usually happens in a marching band (or probably any sport, for that matter)...eventually, they were more automatically straightening their posture, holding their horns up higher, etc. they were putting their feet right, they were keeping backs straight, and the other million-and-one commands. they were learning and applying their knowledge to gradually improve consistently. they began doing these things of their own accord, as they learned it became more and more a part of them! towards the end of the season, the kids who were so whiny and lazy at the beginning showed much dedication, as they kept seeing the fruits of their labors (trophies at contests, the feeling of accomplishment after hard work). it encouraged them, and i saw something huge: we had pushed them well past their limits, and you know what? they got new limits. bigger limits. limits beyond what they had known before. and they began to strive for growth more naturally!
i recall one practice before a really big competition where we had had a really tough practice. it just didn't go well, and we were past the time to be done. parents were parked in cars all around the parking lot where we rehearsed, and it was getting late at night, all the kids were tired, all the techs were tired, the band director was just shot...we were all so frustrated. finally, the director called an end to practice, asking the kids to "bring it in", as was customary at each practice's end. the kids started to come in and then one kid yelled,"no!" and then another yelled "opening set!" (that is the beginning of the show) and they all, one by one, started yelling encouragement and exhortation to one another and ran to their spots. the students themselves actually refused to give up!!! they refused to end the rehearsal (wow, i have tears in my eyes even now remembering this...)!!! it was amazing!!! we couldn't believe our eyes and ears. things had gone sooooooooo badly during the whole practice...and then the kids themselves just rallied around each other and their common goal and fought hard to keep going. they did a run-through (a full performance) of the show that night, and it was one of the best full shows they did all year. it was inspiring, it was amazing! i cried and coudlnt' stop telling them how proud i was of them....even now, i'm beaming with how much i was just blown away by those kids at that moment, i was so proud of them! they pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and refused to give up. even after all of us had.
God is so much better than we were. He doesn't give up. but we do weary Him. but we have to pull ourselves up and refuse to give up!!
now, here's something interesting about this story: we went to the competition, and the kids gave a stunning performance, they blew me away. i was screaming and crying in the stands, i did not see a flaw in their performance. (not saying there wasn't one, but i just didn't see one, and it was my job to see flaws and was usually very adept at catching them) it was absolutely the best performance of any marching band i have ever seen, before or since. the kids took second place in the regionals, which meant they went on to atlanta. they took second place to a band that was not nearly as good but it was politics that got the other band first place.
here's where i believe this is also analogous: sometimes we see other people seem to get blessings, thriving where we are rejected, other people who cheat,etc. but the Word says not to envy the wicked. the kids in my band were blessed because they worked hard and they knew it. they got 2nd place, but in their hearts they knew why, and so did all of us. those kids were incredible, and an example to me to this day. we all cried together and i was bursting with how much i was so proud of them. they went on to regionals and then to nationals!
all this for a trophy. but how much more, for the hope of His glory, does God push us past our limits? even when we weary Him, He pushes. and pushes. and pushes. but then: we have new limits! hebrews 12:11 translates this to say that discipline is painful at the time but yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
hope this blesses.
