An Audience of One 

Years ago, our youngest daughter was in a solo/ensemble competition. She stood poised, attentive as she patiently waited for the judge. After receiving the acknowledgement to begin, she confidently introduced herself, her accompanist and her piece. Her playing was beautiful and exactly like she had practiced. Once finished, she again stood poised as she waited for the judge’s remarks. Clearly, the judge was displeased with her performance. His demeanor was less than kind, quite honestly it bordered on rude and arrogant. He asked her many questions and had her play some measures over. Respectfully, she answered his questions and thanked him for his suggestions. He was not finished with her yet. He had some other comments that were not only less than encouraging, they were downright demeaning and belittling.

As a mother, listening to this, I had all I could do to not confront him and sharply inform him that he had just missed an opportunity to encourage a young musician. Mentally, I was preparing to help my daughter pick up the pieces. It was only by the grace of God that I held my tongue. It was not until later that I realized if I had gotten involved I would have missed what happened next.

I was proud of her. Not just because she played the absolute best rendition of Musette by Bach ever played (not that I am biased or anything), but more so that she was gracious and undaunted by the judge’s words (unlike myself). Her love of music has not wavered. His harsh critique of her work has not negatively impacted her at all. She is the same confident, caring person as she always was.

We have tried to teach our children to do everything as unto the Lord, do your best in all things and leave the results to God – whatever that may be. It was encouraging to see how God used this experience. She did her best and left the results to God.

More importantly, she did not evaluate herself based on the opinion of one person. Ultimately, we live and work to an audience of one. We are called to be faithful to the Lord, not to be perfect in all that we do. God does not evaluate the results of our work. Rather, he is concerned with the attitude of our hearts.

There have been many times that I have sat with parents that have loved and nurtured their children, guided and provided for their children and one child goes astray. Heartbroken these parents often blame themselves and each other. They evaluate whether they are a good mother or good father based on their children’s behavior. They conclude if their child has gone astray then they must be a “bad mother” or a “bad father.”