As It Will Be

By Peter Story

I listened to a song demo today. I’d heard plenty of them before, but this one sounded unusually rough. I tried not to let on that it grated on my nerves. My friend had warned me that it was a demo before he pressed the play button, but I still wasn’t quite prepared. I hoped he hadn’t noticed me cringe or squirm in my chair.

After about a minute of private anguish, Jesus managed to get through to me.

It’s just a demo, He spoke to my mind.

I know, I replied, but it’s still difficult to listen to.

You have to hear it as the musician hears it—as it will be, not as it is now.

That’s an interesting way to look at it.

Yes, and also the best way. It’s how I look at you, actually.

Ouch! All right, I’ll give it a try.

To my astonishment, it worked instantly. When I listened beyond the rough background noises, the missed beats, and the off-key notes, the song was actually quite good. The melody, it turned out, was beautiful and relaxing, and it fit the lyrics perfectly. I looked forward to the finished product, and I told my friend so.

Throughout life, people make mistakes; they say or do some things wrong, and sometimes repeatedly or with disastrous results. That’s because we are all rough demos in God’s hands right now. There’s a lot about each of us that He still needs to fix, and it’s going to take time.

When we can look at our children that way, when we try to see them not as they are, but as they will be, everyone wins. They have leeway to be less than perfect, learn by trial and error, and thus keep growing.


The Love Catalyst

Love is not blind; it has an extra spiritual eye that sees the good and possibilities that others cannot see.—David Brandt Berg

Treat a man as if he already were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be.—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Everyone has good qualities. Find specific things about others that you can sincerely compliment them on, and be generous with your praise. If you can’t find anything right off, look deeper. Ask God to show you the positive qualities that must be there, because He sees things worth loving and praising in everyone. The harder it is to find that special something, the greater the reward is likely to be for both of you when you do. If you can find even a threadlike vein and shine a little love on it in the form of praise, it will lead you straight to the mother lode. Your children will open up to you, and you’ll discover lots of wonderful things about them.—Shannon Shayler