Scales & Reps

This weekend, my wife and I went to see cellist Amit Peled and his students—The Peabody Cello Gang—perform. We were reminded that great musicians are great because they can perform without concentrating on the fundamentals. And the reason they can play with such freedom is that they practice those fundamentals over and over, all the time.

Also this weekend, I heard that my college football team practiced 600 reps of live tackling during summer camp. The theory goes that practice frees the players from dwelling on the mechanics of tackling so they can focus on the flow of each play. (May it be so!)

It makes me think—where am I most likely to stumble spiritually in the course of regular life? Where is it that I have to hunker down and focus on the mechanics of a Christian walk?

Then, how can I back up and find ways to practice those fundamentals—over and over—so I can live more freely and successfully on the stage, on the field?