PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) — Old Christ Church in historic Pensacola has been standing guard at the corner of Adams and Zaragoza Streets in Pensacola Florida since 1832. It oozes history! Some time ago, I attended a chamber music recital in this old church building. The 1800s-era music and the history of the building made it a somewhat “perfect” event.
About the third song in, the musicians were joined by a soprano soloist. Her voice was beautiful. She was “perfect.” Until her voice cracked on a high note. Could have been the strain of the note, could have been the pollen in the air, could have just been a fluke. A true pro, she took a step back, cleared her throat, stepped forward, and continued to a “perfect” finish.
I’m not a singer, but I write a lot and I try to be grammatically correct. One time I was concerned about a verb tense, so I asked a grammar guru if I’d gotten it right. I had! He said I was using “past-perfect tense.” I laughed and thought, well my verb may be past perfect, but in life, I’m more like “past-imperfect!”
Do you have imperfect things in your past? Things that you wish you hadn’t done or said? James 3:2 says “we all stumble in many ways.” But in Philippians, Paul’s advice is to not dwell on what’s behind but to strain forward to what’s ahead.
We are approaching the season of Lent and during that time, maybe we all can use that season of reflection to work on ironing out the imperfect wrinkles of our lives, past and present, to become better for God, for others, and for ourselves. Like that soloist in Old Christ Church that day, maybe we can work on not allowing our imperfect moments from keeping us from enjoying a perfect finish.
