I Sound Like a Screaming Cat!

This week was supposed to be the start of my next challenge.  "Piece of cake,"  I thought.  But then life happened.  We had a series of ball games, homework, laundry, cooking dinner, church, and a bunch of other things that seem to jump in front of my good intentions of picking an instrument.  Every time I would decide that tonight would be the night, something came up.  Isn't that how life is?  We make a decision to do something, and then a million things get in the way of the plans you make.  Before I knew it, it was Saturday.  I started my day doing laundry, visiting a shut-in and helping my daughters clean her house, attending a Veteran's event where my daughter sang (Thank you veterans for your service!), attending a basketball tournament to cheer on my son, coming back to my house where I gathered and prepared for Sunday's worship service.  When I finally finished everything else, it was ten o'clock at night.  Grrrr.  Now was the time.  I scoured my house for any musical instrument I could find.  I found an old violin behind the couch.  I thought that I had found my instrument.  Then I noticed that the case was open.  Someone had tried to play it.  I stress tried because they broke the third string and hid the violin behind the couch.  So I proceeded to try a three-stringed violin.  As the picture shows, there is a direct correlation with my violin playing and a cat being tortured.  I'm pretty sure that I almost got Amazing Grace down.  My son, however, disagrees.  I forged on to the trumpet.  I forged on until we found out it was missing the slide.  We looked everywhere.  We looked under the couch, between the cushions, and in corners.  I looked up to find the room I had just cleaned in shambles.  Then after all of that, my son proceeds to tell me the slide had fallen in a gap between the case and the lining.  I did not strangle my son, but if I had that talent like Darth Vader where you can use the force to lift someone up, I might have used it.  I think I almost got The Star Spangled Banner down, if it were a small child playing it and had never heard The Star Spangled Banner before.  I moved on to the flute.  After a ton of attempts at getting it to make a sound other than my breath coming out in large puffs, I finally got the instrument to make a loud high-pitched squeal.  I'm thankful the neighborhood dogs did not bark.  My final instrument was up.  I pulled out the guitar and quickly realized my fingers don't reach far enough.  Also, pushing down guitar strings hurt for a novice.  My seventeen year old son decided to give me a few tips.  He started playing a couple of months ago and is actually very good.  It hurts when one of your children has to give you a lesson in something.  Either he makes a bad teacher, or I make a bad student- or maybe a little of both.  He got me roughly through a couple of chords, and since it was eleven thirty at night, I felt I should call it a night.  All in all, I didn't do horribly.  It brought to mind the uncertainty of life.  We don't know what will happen.  We can make great plans, but sometimes life doesn't follow our plans.  Does it mean we give up or throw in the towel?  No!!  I've seen so many that decide it's easier to quit than to work through hard times.  But the Word of God does not agree with this.  Romans 5:3-5 states that we exult (this means to find joy) in our tribulations (hard times)  because we know  it will bring perseverance.  This means we will not give up.  When we do not give up, it will give us proven character. That proven character will give you hope, and that hope will not let you down because God has poured out His love to get you through your hard times.  What does all of this mean?  God is with you even when it doesn't feel like it.  Don't give up, and you will eventually see God's love in the midst of whatever you're going through.  So I won't give up.  Which instrument will be the one for my very public performance?  Stay tuned and see...Hopefully, it will not sound like a wounded animal!  Have a great week high-heeled warriors!