Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. (Psalms 150:5-6)

My older son loves to play the drums. He’s played in a number of bands and contributed  in a major way to their success. He plays loud and fast, and the louder and faster it is, the better for him. In performances, there would not be a dry spot on his T-shirt when it was over. I say “success” meaning they recorded a CD and gained a small but avid following. It happened three times, that just when things were heating up, Christopher opted out. As the band got more and more serious and demanded more time and sacrifice of other things, Christopher lost interest. He was not after making a career out of drumming; he just did it for the joy of playing. In spite of the casual attitude, I marveled and how accomplished he became.

What I didn’t know was how good he was becoming in all styles of music. When he wasn’t playing in a band, he would get his drum “fix” playing on his electronic set with his earphones tuned to any kind of song he wanted. He learned by playing along with the best.

Since getting married, moving into a tiny apartment in Seal Beach and pursuing a career as a police officer, now with the Port of Los Angeles, his drums have been at rest; the electronic set is in our attic. But yesterday he got to play again, and Marti and I and Chandler got to experience it. He played in the worship band in a humble community church in town.

Elizabeth said that in the last few days he’s been drumming all over their apartment, on tables, chairs, the floor, the bed and the sofa, trying to get his chops back. (He hadn’t hit a drum since their wedding last April.) And yesterday, it all paid off.

Have you ever tried to sing and cry at the same time? You can’t do it. So for the first two songs I just stood there and took it in. Something welled up inside that prevented me from making a sound. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I wasn’t prepared for this. I was prepared to see my son drum; I wasn’t prepared to be led by him into worship. I wasn’t prepared to hear angels sing and heavenly choirs exalt.

A few things to get from this today:
1. Learn from the masters.
2. Do what you do for the joy of doing it.
3. Practice anywhere and everywhere you can.
4. Do everything to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Actually, he was always playing to the glory of God; it’s just that this time I saw it.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.