Character Building

Two hypothetical scenarios:
1. Golda practices all week to play her flute in Sacrament meeting. Her practice with the pianist goes smoothly. (Thanks, Jennifer!) She gets up in church and plays flawlessly, and is thrilled with her performance. Everyone raves.

Or 2. Golda practices all week to play in Sacrament meeting. Her practice with the pianist goes smoothly. Then she decides to play a different song an hour before church. She practices with the pianist in the chapel 30 minutes before the meeting. She sounds wonderful. I'm playing violin with her, and I'm really having fun. Five minutes before the meeting, a crotchety, outspoken retired band teacher walks up to her and tells her she's playing flat and that the flute is his least favorite of all the musical instruments in the world. As Golda stares at him, trembling, he proceeds to give her pointers about blowing air. Now, I love this guy because he swears when he's bearing his testimony, but Golda's not feeling the love. When it's time to play, Golda is shaking like an Aspen tree. When the music starts, she sounds beautiful, she doesn't buckle under the pressure like the rest of us would, and she looks confident as she fills the hall with music that's right on pitch. As it turns out, the new song she had chosen fits perfectly with the messages of the talks. Afterward, she's convinced she was flat and that everybody thought she was awful. An onslaught of effusive compliments and glowing reviews did little to erase the doubt in her mind, and the feeling that she could have done better.

Scenario 1 would have been great. I'm a little bit thankful for Scenario 2, though, because it gave Golda a chance to test her strength. It allowed her to see that we all say things that have unforeseen consequences, and to forgive that in another person and learn from them. It showed her that maybe she's not quite perfect yet, but that so many people love her anyway and think she's wonderful. The moral: When 99% of the people say you're fabulous and 1% say you're crappy, believe all of them and go forward with confidence and humility, knowing you're on the right path.