How to Progress with Imperfections

Early on in my music education, I had resisted anything that was not traditional tonal music. My freshman year at BYU, I was talking with one of the music professors: Dr. Sargent, and I confided in him my concerns. I told him how this atonal, 12-tone, and other "experiments" were ugly garbage. He agreed with me -- to a fashion. I can't remember exactly how he put it, but he definitely praised the value of "tonal" music.

So, for most of that first year, Dr. Sargent was my secret confidant in the music department. We had the other professors fooled. They could have their atonal music, and we would continue on pushing for excellent tonal music. But then something strange happened.

Dr. Sargent (and others) helped me to gain an appreciation for new music. I came to learn that it wasn't "ugly," but rather "beautiful." So -- when the time had passed, it appeared that Dr. Sargent had been with the other music professors that whole time!

For a couple of years after that, I wondered why Dr. Sargent had agreed with me. Was it a flat out lie? I don't think so. All he did was say that tonal music was awesome -- and he wasn't wrong. He could have instead stood up right there and then to defend atonal music, but he knew I wasn't ready to hear it. He could have pushed me away. Instead, he decided to tell me what I needed to hear as he incrementally helped me to get where I needed to be. The whole time, he saw the potential in my music, and he knew what I could one day accomplish.

Here's another thing to consider ... I'm currently having my teeth moved -- kind of like adult braces. You may have seen "clear-liners," such as this from my third tray:

Over a year, I must progress through a series of 25 trays. At the end, my teeth will be straight. But take a look at that third tray. My teeth are still crooked. So, the questions arise: Why does this tray insist to maintain some of my imperfections? Is it saying that it's okay to be imperfect? Why can't I just stick in my last tray and be done with it?

As you can probably guess, if I were to jump all the way to the fulness of the straightening, it would probably crack my teeth, cause great pain, or even cause some teeth to fall out. My teeth just aren't ready for the full straightening. This can only be accomplished by incremental steps, preserving some of my imperfections along the way. But at the end, the imperfections will be gone.

Take a look at my current tray, the sixth tray:

It looks a lot like tray #3, but my teeth are a tiny bit straighter -- and believe me, it's already been a journey to get this far (and for so little movement)!

Likewise, as we turn to God in prayer and ask for His guidance, He will lead us in increments. He will tell us what we're ready to learn. None of us is ready to know all the truths and secrets of heaven. He may tell us we're on the right path, even when an aspect of that path is incorrect -- because He will preserve our imperfections until we're ready to proceed past them -- as long as we're generally going in the right direction.

I'm just grateful for God's patience in dealing with us -- His imperfect followers. As long as we stick with Him, He will stick with us and lead us to perfection in the end.