The drum. Certainly one of the most basic of musical instruments. Possibly one of the first ever played by Man. It could have been a hollow log that some man in pre-history hit one day and found it made a unique sound. Perhaps a neighbor came over to find out what it was that he heard and the idea of sound travel was discovered. Was it for entertainment? Probably. Modern day movie makers like to entertain us with the picture of our ancient ancestors moving to the beat around a fire. It may have even happened. At some point, someone decided it was a great way to send a signal to someone else at a distance and signal drumming was born.
Jump forward in time a few millennia and see the evolution of the drum in religion, celebration and warfare. No longer a hollow log, it is now the snare drum of the drummer boy keeping time for the Redcoats marching to Concord or Lexington. It is the kettle drum on a Roman galley beating out time for the rowers. It is the bass drum keeping time for your high school band that entertains you at half time on a Friday night. It is a marvelous musical instrument weaving magic at the command of the legendary Buddy Rich. It is the nearly silent sound of your heart beating in perfect time hidden inside your chest.
We often talk about someone's vocation, avocation, job, hobby or interest in terms of marching to a drum. Someone who steps outside the norm is spoken of as marching to a different drummer, sometimes in derision and sometimes in admiration. All too often, we find ourselves marching in time to a drumbeat that we don't really like but have found ourselves stuck in that rhythm, like a job we no longer enjoy but can't leave for one reason or another. We have all heard the stories of the executive who leaves the corner office behind to take up something totally different and far less financially rewarding, simply because it felt good to do what fed the heart and soul and not necessarily the wallet.
What leads people to suddenly decide to change what they are doing and go off in a different direction? I've known people who have gone from serving themselves to serving others. Why did they change so radically? Who changed the beat of their personal drum to lead them off on a different path? If you talk to them, they will all say something along the lines that they just felt it was time to change. Many can't tell you why. I once knew a combat Marine who became a Catholic priest, a house painter who is a pastor of a successful church, and others who have made a turn and now serve a new need, whether in the ministry or elsewhere. Who could issue such a call except the Master Drummer, our God who calls us to assist him in all of the works he has planned for us. He sets the pace and the beat, the best rhythm for us at different times in our life. Some change their path and follow that new beat and some don't. We know that he calls many and chooses the few to do his work who answer that call. The rewards are special for those who do.
How about you? Which drumbeat are you following? It may be the one God picked out for you many years ago and you are where he wants you to be, doing what he needs you to do. Have you been hearing the faint sound of something else, some strange thrumming that temps you to make a turn, to change something in your life? It may be that he is telling you that it is time to do something he needs you to do and you are now ready to do just that.
Are you listening? And what will you do?
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