I have always wanted to be in a band, or rather, The Band. Our church is small and at this point our Worship Leader, Scott, does a solo act. He is an amazing musician and songwriter so it works out very well. I toyed with the idea of trying to let me join him. I actually threw some bait his way, but he didn’t bite. Like I said, Scott is a talented musician and songwriter, which means he can also recognize talent, or lack thereof, in others. He is a wise man.
I have been in a band several times in the past. I decided in 3rd grade I would play the trombone like my older brother. My Dad actually said I should learn the flute or the piccolo like my sister but anyone can see why that didn’t fly. As a third grader, I couldn’t understand how wise my father is. Now I understand it is a matter of boys instruments and girls instruments, it was a matter of physics. A trombone is a billion times heavier more than a flute. You cannot carry a trombone in your pocket, or ride a bike with a trombone. I tried both and have the scars to prove it.
I was never good at playing the trombone. Even still, I kept it up through middle school. When I was in Eighth grade the Band Director drafted all of us to play in the high school marching band. Sweet! Now I had a sweet ill-fitting uniform and a big hat with a feather! I was on my way! After the second home game he asked me to not play anymore, just try to march in step. After the third game he asked me not to march anymore, I had to turn in my giant feathered hat.
Fast-forward to 1997. I was invited to attend Officers Candidate School. This invitation was for 13 weeks of some of the most challenging days of my life up to that time. The point of OCS is to crush the life out of young college grads mentally, physically and emotionally, since they would be doing things like flying bazillion dollar fighter jets. Since it was designed for 22 year olds and I was well past that, I was challenged and stretched in every way. In the first week I lost 20 pounds. That chick from Biggest Loser has nothing on those United States Marine Corps Drill Instructors (Hurrah!)
Also during the first week, some guy came in and asked if anyone played an instrument, ever. We were to write down what we played and how long it had been since we last played. My card said “Trombone, 13 years”. When he got to my card he asked “Truman! What positions do you play a B-flat in?”
“First and sixth” I said out loud, and mumbled “and any position where you don’t end your sentence in prepositions.”
“No. First and seventh, but that is close enough. Your in the band.”
What? How was I in the band? I didn’t even get the question right. There was no way I should be in the band.
It turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened. The “Band” at OCS practiced during the bi-weekly parade practice and on Saturday mornings, and. It turns out that those were also the same times when our class, whom we left behind in the barracks, was at the mercy of our Drill Instructor,. So while we were literally drinking forbidden coffee and eating bootleg donuts, our classmates were “gettin’ a beatin’”.
The Band Director quickly realized I couldn’t play anything beyond the Star Spangled Banner on the trombone and relegated me to the cymbals. I will lay aside modesty at this point and say that I was one of the best cymbal players to pass through OCS, ever. I played those cymbals with an intensity and vigor never seen before in those parts, for there were donuts and coffee to gain and beatings to avoid.
The point of all this? I think it is pretty amazing how God works. I wont pretend that was coincidental or circumstantial. What I needed to make it through OCS was a break, and 2 decades earlier, that break was in the making. It makes me wonder about other things that have happened, how will those work out? Will I be able to look back and see another clear reason such as this one? I don’t know, but I am excited about the prospects. I do wish I had listened to my dad about the flute thing though, he is a wise man.“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
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