Special Sauce
My friend Mike is my favorite guitar player. He’s not well known, although he’s played on some big stages and with people you would know. He’s not a shredder like Herman Li, or flashy like Joe Bonamasa. Those guys can really play and have received much acclaim. But Mike isn’t like them. Mike is about the song. He’s like the special sauce that makes a good sandwich great. You know, the kind that transforms bread, meat (tofu and veggies in my case… I’m a vegetarian), and cheese into a foretaste of the feast to come! For a taste of that special sauce, check out this short clip:
I love the way he makes the guitar sing. He plays from his whole being. When I watch him play, whether on stage or in a 30-second Instagram reel, I feel every ounce of his joy, pain, faith, doubt, frustration, and love. Mike is my favorite guitar player.
I play guitar also. I’m pretty good. I can do some things, but no one has ever described my playing as “special.” I’m more like ranch dressing. It tastes good, but no one ever says, “Man, that Hidden Valley is fire!” I like to think I, too, play with passion, but my playing is more functional than fantastic.
What’s the difference? What’s the difference between Mike and me as guitar players? I mean, besides our 30-year age gap and my aging, calloused, increasingly arthritic hands? What’s the difference?
PRACTICE!
Mike practices diligently, and it shows. When he has an idea in his head, he practices until it sings from the strings of his Stratocaster. He practices until it becomes part of him and can spring forth effortlessly when it serves the song.
Me? I don’t practice much. I just play, so I often end up strumming the same old chords and leaning on the same licks I learned thirty years ago when I did practice.
I’ve been thinking a lot about spiritual PRACTICE recently. I do not expect that my spiritual life can (or should be) always spectacular. But I do want it to sing. Sometimes it will be ordinary, but I don’t want it to be dry. So I practice.
I take time to be still and listen to my life. What am I thankful for? Where do I feel unsettled? How can I give more freely? Where do I sense God’s presence? What is God saying? How am I responding faithfully? This is why I write. I write to think and organize my thoughts. Putting pen to paper (I always handwrite everything before touching a keyboard). Listening, paying attention, and writing are all part of how I practice praying continually.
I practice because I don’t want to settle for a faith that is little more than a monotonous melody sung over the same three chords over and over. I want my faith to be like that special sauce, so I practice and pray that the light and love of Christ will exude from my being.
I don’t always hit all the right notes. Sometimes I get a little off course. Other times I play in the wrong key entirely. So, I keep practicing so maybe one day my life will sing!
*If you want to hear my favorite guitar player, you can find him on Instagram at @mikegronskymusic Better yet, go check out his Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/mikegronsky.