June 6, 2022
After nudging my kids out the door to play with their daddy, I frantically set up my recording equipment, slapped on some makeup, through my hair up, and ran around the house turning off everything that could possibly make noise and ruin a recording. Confident that everything was as it should be to record, I sat down at the piano and started recording. (This mad dash pretty well sums up the thirty minutes before a recording session.)
After recording several pieces and feeling a great sense of accomplishment, I sat down at the computer to listen to the takes and make sure everything went well. I noticed that sound was not coming out of one side of my headphones which seemed strange, but I did not pay much attention to the issue. As I was packing up my recording equipment, I realized that I had forgotten to plug in one of the microphones thus causing the lack of stereo sound in my headphones. My heart sunk. The recording session was not the quality that I can publish.
Honestly, I was quite disappointed, but the Lord reminded me to be grateful and also learn from this scenario. My husband kindly suggested that I need to create a checklist for before and after recording, and this checklist will create an objective standard for preparations and alleviate my mind from remembering so many details.
I was tempted to get upset and angry over “losing” an entire recording session. Yet, several benefits came from this mishap. First, the need for a checklist became quite evident. Second, I had uninterrupted practice on the piano and greater preparation for the next recording session. Third, I was reminded to stay humble and dependent on the Lord because without Him I cannot accomplish anything.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and again recording time was at hand. Generally, I record in the evenings after supper, and in the afternoon, I try to set up as much as possible. I had lugged most of the equipment down to the living room and planned to set everything up, but my kids begged me to make some playdoh. While the living room was a tangle of wires and tripods, we made blue homemade playdoh together in the kitchen and had a blast.
Since I did not get to set up as planned, I still felt the mad dash to get ready to record. The kids were outside, my appearance was acceptable, and every noise maker in the house (including the fridge!) was now off. Finally seated at the piano, I looked down at my hands and noticed blue playdoh stuck to my wedding ring. I smiled.
The blue playdoh reminded me of several things.
First, the playdoh reminded me of my children and our wonderful memory together.
Second, the playdoh reminded me that life is not perfect and does not have to be to accomplish what God has for us to do.
God is teaching me to be persistent even when circumstances are not perfect. Giving up will not solve any problems or create any advancements, but taking each step, one at a time, will promote growth.
Do you struggle with perfectionism? I certainly do! Below are several lessons I am learning.
Life is too short for everything to be perfect.
If you wait to accomplish something until all the circumstances are perfect, you will likely not accomplish much.
Do your best in the amount of time you have; this is all you can do!
Here is the recording I created while wearing a blue-playdoh-covered wedding ring. Enjoy!
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