Monday, September 12, 2005
The gift that keeps on giving
Well, the blessed neighborhood silence of which I so hopefully wrote recently didn't last quite as long as I'd hoped. Late Sunday afternoon, just as I was about to go back to church for our evening service, my neighbor started to play his electric guitar, and he was still at it until shortly after I got back home that evening. Although he was playing a little more quietly than before, I could still hear him. I found this to be disappointing, of course, but given my understanding of the depravity of man, I didn't take it as a great surprise.
At this point, I'm going to use a twofold approach to cope with this unwanted musical background. First, I'm going to reserve the right to pay return calls on my neighbor whenever he gets especially loud. Second, when his volume is annoying but not overwhelmingly so, I'm going to deliberately and cheerfully forgive him and use whatever means are within my power to mask his, er, music. What with my vast collection of CDs and DVDs, I'm certainly not lacking for means. :-)
Having said all that, I think I'm coming to realize that this may one of those afflictions which the Lord has seen fit to trouble me for at least a little while longer. As such, I'm going to have to see how I might profit from it. No, I'm not thinking about printing up tickets and charging admission for my neighbor's impromptu concerts. :-) Instead, with God's help I'm going to see if this situation might be useful in refining my character. On the off chance that I might be overly sensitive about such annoyances, it may be good for me to learn how to bear with it with graciousness and cheerfulness. Seeing as how God has had a good purpose for all my past afflictions, not to mention the troubles of all of His Elect throughout all time, I think I'm safe in assuming that He has a good purpose for this affliction, too.
As for what His precise reasons for this affliction might be, I have no idea, but I can certainly imagine lots of possible reasons, some rather fanciful. For instance, if God is one day pleased to give me not only a wife but also a broodful of leather-lunged little tykes, I might be glad that I started to learn how to manage with a little bit of noise today.
Sincerely yours,
The Golden-Eared One
:-)
At this point, I'm going to use a twofold approach to cope with this unwanted musical background. First, I'm going to reserve the right to pay return calls on my neighbor whenever he gets especially loud. Second, when his volume is annoying but not overwhelmingly so, I'm going to deliberately and cheerfully forgive him and use whatever means are within my power to mask his, er, music. What with my vast collection of CDs and DVDs, I'm certainly not lacking for means. :-)
Having said all that, I think I'm coming to realize that this may one of those afflictions which the Lord has seen fit to trouble me for at least a little while longer. As such, I'm going to have to see how I might profit from it. No, I'm not thinking about printing up tickets and charging admission for my neighbor's impromptu concerts. :-) Instead, with God's help I'm going to see if this situation might be useful in refining my character. On the off chance that I might be overly sensitive about such annoyances, it may be good for me to learn how to bear with it with graciousness and cheerfulness. Seeing as how God has had a good purpose for all my past afflictions, not to mention the troubles of all of His Elect throughout all time, I think I'm safe in assuming that He has a good purpose for this affliction, too.
As for what His precise reasons for this affliction might be, I have no idea, but I can certainly imagine lots of possible reasons, some rather fanciful. For instance, if God is one day pleased to give me not only a wife but also a broodful of leather-lunged little tykes, I might be glad that I started to learn how to manage with a little bit of noise today.
Sincerely yours,
The Golden-Eared One
:-)
