The Question

It had been a while since the question had come up. “Your brothers are both so musically talented. Why don’t you play anything?” I used to get the question a lot at the church where I grew up. My dad was one of the pastors at the biggest church in town, so my brothers and I were sort of like local celebrities, but in none of the good ways. Imagine the weather guy from the local news channel that you see in the grocery store; he’s not anyone you’d brag about meeting, but you might look over your shoulder to see what kind of cereal he buys. And if you saw that he was buying Lucky Charms, you might have the thought that a guy like that should have better sense than to buy sugary cereals. All that to say that it seemed that everyone had an opinion about us, and it’s something I’ve had to spend some time getting over. The question itself is benign, it’s a curiosity to most people, but I don’t like what it implies, ie: that because my brothers were musically gifted beyond belief that my lack of the gift is some sort of intentional staying of the hand of God. I don’t know the answer; in fact I’m not sure there needs to be an answer. I got some other pretty good gifts, and I get to enjoy their music without the burden of performance. All of this is a bit difficult to explain, and probably a bit much to drop on someone for an honest question, but if you’ve read this post, you now know me a little better.