The Control of the Mixing Board - 10th Devotional

…you may become like Him in character… - Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pg. 77

            It’s an ordinary morning: the school bell rings and I burst into the recording studio ready to start work. “Good morning, Ryo!” I cheerfully greet my boss. After having a word of prayer, I take my place in front of a computer.

“You already know what to do, right?” Ryo asks.

I nod. (I do know what to do.)

I start to edit a song that has been recorded by students, and for now I just edit the choir part. What I mean by “editing” is that I have to make the music sound flawless. I don’t mean to say that the choir doesn't sound good in reality; but in the studio I can make it sound better. When a soprano comes in earlier than the rest of the choir, I cut her part and move it to the right place, put a crossfade so no one can hear the cut, and repeat the same process wherever it’s needed. Then I tune every voice that sounds a little off tune. And there are a few other changes that I make too. It seems very simple! But it’s not, and the whole process takes a lot of time.

 Working in the recording studio is lots of fun, but it’s also hard work. I need to have lots of patience, common sense, a good ear, and be a little perfectionistic.

            Every time I work on editing a song, I think of how Jesus wants to “edit” my character. Sometimes I go “off tune” when I get mad at someone, or I “come in earlier” when I don’t trust God’s timing. This is hard work—too hard for me to do on my own! Sometimes I can’t even tell when there’s something wrong with my character, but He has control of the mixing board, and He is able to make it perfectly sound.

~ Mildred Rhys

A Promise to Simon - 9th Devotional

Who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” - Acts 1:11 NKJV

            The adventure was about to begin. This was the day we were to leave Argentina, the place I was born—the place where I lived my entire life. We were going to move to North America for who knows how long; maybe for a year? It would be at least a year. It was a bitter-sweet feeling. I was excited, but scared at the same time. There was something that worried me: What is going to happen with Simon? I thought.

            Simon is my cat. He is such a beautiful cat! His coat is soft and grey with brown spots, like that of a tiger. He was born at home, and he had always slept with me, so we are really close to each other. But I had to leave him behind, and that broke my heart.

He knew that something was wrong;, that I was leaving him. It made me feel a little better knowing that he was going to stay with my uncle, but I was still worried. What if something happens to him? What if he doesn’t recognize me when I come back? However, there was nothing I could do; it was impossible to take him with me. I could only promise him that I would be back sometime.

            When Jesus went back to heaven, He promised His disciples that He was going to come back to live with them eternally. This promise wasn’t only for them, but it is for you and for me too. It’s been a year and a half since I’ve been away from Argentina, but I know that someday I will go back and see Simon again. He knows that too. Sometimes I feel like Jesus is taking too long to come back! But I know He will return just as He promised. I can’t wait to see Jesus coming in the clouds, and to live eternally with Him.

~ Mildred Rhys

Soli Deo Gloria - Devotional 8

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. - 1 Timothy 1:17 NKJV

            It was a dark and dense night that covered the silent streets of London as a heavy human figure made its way to a building with a small door. Creeeeak. The door was opened; he lit a candle and collapsed on a chair. Sweat was falling down his forehead; feeling that his inspiration was gone, and knowing that nobody was interested in his compositions anymore was too much to bear. This is the end of my career, he thought.

On his working table he found a package and tore off the paper. “Oratorio.”. What kind of joke is this? He stood up to throw the papers into the fire, but something stronger seemed to stop him. He decided to read it. The title The Messiah caught his attention. “Comfort ye my people.” With tears in his eyes, he took a Bible and started studying the prophecies concerning the Messiah; His birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven—the whole plan of Salvation. He sat at the harpsichord and his fingers flew across the keys.

Days and nights he spent in his room, only with a harpsichord, pen, ink, paper, and the Bible. Sometimes he didn’t even eat. After twenty-four days, the work was completed, and as he left the room, his face was shining. George Frederic Handel had finished writing the great oratorio, The Messiah. When a friend of his commented on how amazing this music was, he just bowed his head and humbly replied, “God has visited me.”

What makes people from different countries and cultures stand up whenever the “Hallelujah Chorus” from The Messiah is played? Well, at the bottom of the last page Handel has written the Latin words: “Soli Deo Gloria,” which mean “all Glory to God alone.”

~ Mildred Rhys

Mr. Alistair - 7th Devotional

The Lord will work for all who put their trust in Him. Precious victories will be gained by the faithful. Precious lessons will be learned. Precious experiences will be realized. – Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pg. 11.

         

   It was a scorching summer afternoon at Fountainview Academy, and I was raking grass after the lawn had been mowed. The sun was blazing and I felt sick. I was wishing I was doing something else out of that baking sun when I saw Mr. Alistair, my boss, coming on his truck. “Mildred,” he greeted me with his lively New Zealand accent, “we are going to go move pipe lines; but you are going to drive us there.”

            At that moment I was still learning to drive. I would practice with my dad and be fine, but driving with Mr. Alistair was really embarrassing. I knew I was going to make a mistake and he would laugh at me. Finally, I took a deep breath and got behind the wheel. Everything went fine until we got to a place where we had to turn around in a really narrow space, with a hill on one side and a cliff on the other. I didn’t know how to turn around in such a small space. Mr. Alistair gave me some instructions on how I had to do it, but I was too scared to even try. “Mildred, you need to trust me’,” his voice was calm but firm, and he wasn’t laughing at me. “I’m the one who knows what to do; you need to trust me, Mildred.”. I trusted his word and I turned around. We didn’t go down the cliff! After that experience, my confidence grew, not only in myself and in my driving skills, but in Mr. Alistair too.

            There have been many times in my life when I felt that I would go down the cliff if I took only one more step; I would be too embarrassed to even try. But Jesus is the One who knows what to do, and He tells me “Trust me, Mildred.” When I trust His word, that’s when He can work for me. I gain victories, and my confidence in Him grows.

 ~ Mildred Rhys

Tricky Duckweed - 6th Devotional

It is true that Satan's path is made to appear attractive, but it is all a deception…  If we take Christ for our guide, He will lead us safely. –Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pp.139, 140.

            “Look at those beautiful flowers!” I exclaimed as I pointed to some orchids and lilies that surrounded us. We were visiting a botanical garden in London, and it was the biggest I had ever seen in my life! It had all the different kinds of plants and flowers you could ever imagine, and it would take you a few days to see everything. You could also find lots of greenhouses that had flowers and plants from different regions of the planet and its various climates. In a place like that, it is easy to get lost! My mum warned me and my two little brothers to stay close by, where she could see us.

Being three years old, my brother Brian was very curious and adventurous. He needed to explore all the endless trails and exotic plants (especially the ones that would open their ‘mouths’ when he put a little piece of something on top of them). Then we got to a greenhouse with aquatic plant species that had little ponds everywhere. We didn’t realize that Brian was missing until we heard “Splash!” We ran to the place where the splash came from, and there he was, reaching for the edge of the pond. Thankfully, it wasn’t a deep pond! But what we saw next made us burst into laughter: the surface of the water was covered in duck weed. Curious little Brian had thought he was walking on a nice green meadow; then there was no meadow anymore.

Satan always wants to delude me, and he uses appearances of beautiful flowers to make me fall. Since it is impossible for me to see the deception under a nice green ‘meadow,’ how can I make it through? But I know I have Someone much wiser than I am Who will walk with me and lead me safely around the tricky “duckweed”; that’s only if I choose to walk with Him.

~ Mildred Rhys

Upon His Care - 5th Devotional

In teaching us to ask every day for what we need—both temporal and spiritual blessings—God has a purpose to accomplish for our good. He would have us realize our dependence upon His constant care, for He is seeking to draw us into communion with Himself. -­­­­ Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pg. 113

            The day had come, and I couldn’t wait any longer. Nine years of waiting and waiting had come to an end. I couldn’t even express the joy I had. I was not alone; my family was as excited as I was. My cousins were jumping all over the place with euphoria, and my dad couldn’t stop sneaking a quick look at the clock every few seconds.

Ever since I was eight years old and had started with harp lessons, I only wanted one thing, and that was to have my own big pedal harp. I had prayed almost every day; my parents had prayed; everyone in my family had prayed for it. I just didn’t understand why God wouldn’t send me a real harp; I would play at church with my small harp and do special music. I was using my talents for Him with the tiny instrument I had, but still He wouldn’t send me something better so I could keep sharing His love in an improved way. Finally, my harp came! Even when I didn’t understand why it took so long to come, through all those years of delay I learned to trust God and have faith in His promises no matter what happened. I knew He wanted the best for me, and He was going to give it to me.

God wants me to ask Him every day for things that I need, or that I think I need. That’s how I learn to depend on Him and on His care. Sometimes He takes a very long time to answer, but, while I wait, He draws me closer to Himself, and we enjoy communion with each other. Don’t be afraid to ask Him for anything that you need; even when it may seem a long wait, as you wait you will experience the communion He wants to have with you.

~ Mildred Rhys