“How has your approach changed based on that experience?”
A conversation I had with my leader last week went much deeper than I anticipated.
Her question took me back to a hard moment I experienced almost a decade ago, one that left me feeling the pain of being compelled to leave my role. This strong nudge was both abrupt and intentional.
If I chose to stay in the current role, it would be like attempting to run through quicksand. Digging my heels in, so to speak, would involve deep accountability and heavy consequences for mistakes.
From where I sat, the decision was simple: pursue a different role.
During the same season, I’d reached the three-month mark of accompanying congregational singing on the piano at church. There was something incredibly important I came to realize: that it’s ok to have “empty air.”
If I embedded a pause or silence into the piano accompaniment, it helped me perform better moving forward. Literally taking my fingers off the keys caused me to pick back up right where I left off—and in a much better position than before.
It seems odd, I know. But doing so between verses of the song created a more natural breath than right in the middle. Once I jumped back in after taking that millisecond break, I performed better.
Letting my leader’s question marinate, I realized I already knew the answer…
“I slow way down, give myself space to think, and make sure I’m not the first one to speak if in a group setting.”
Nearly ten years later, I'm still learning to take my fingers off the keys.
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