An Easter Reflection

"If the canvas on which an artist paints could think and speak,
certainly it wouldn't complain about constantly being touched
and retouched by a brush,
and neither would it envy the role of that instrument,
because it would know that it is not to the brush
but to the artist that directs it that it owes the beauty that it bears.
As to the brush, it couldn't take glory in the masterpiece that it has made.
It knows that artists aren't inconvenienced : They make child's play of difficulties, taking pleasure in sometimes choosing instruments that are weak and defective..."
- St. Therese of Liseux.

I'm really enjoying St. Therese's autobiography, 'The Story of a Soul'.
I love her child-like nature, her metaphors, full of richness.

So here I am, thinking more about what she said about how,
being instruments, we should not take pride in our own abilities,
but rejoice that we have a wonderful artist
who knows how to make use of us in the best way possible.

I thought about how cheaply bought instruments,
like the Pearl River pianos, or the $1.99 harmonicas...
often break down after a while and a good artist,
though he can still make use of them to paint or create a masterpiece,
cannot make the best music that can be played on better instruments,
like the Steinways or Bosendorfers of the piano world,
which are sensitive to the Master's touch
and which work to enhance the Master's artistry.

We were not bought cheaply.
We were paid for by His blood...His sacrifice...
His pain...His sufferings, His cross...His death.
We are the most exquisite instruments that even money cannot buy.

He wanted us, so much so that He paid the ultimate price.
And so it goes, we are instruments that are powerfully made.
Each of us, an instrument with a purpose, each of us,
a part of His symphony.
Each of us, a one-of-a-kind creation.