This morning I was reading my Spanish-English Bible and got to thinking about a pastor friend in Cuba who is going through some difficult times. He wrote to me a few days ago asking prayers, and I have yet to write back. My Spanish isn't very good, so I have to depend on a translation app which only allows short sentences. I end up cutting and pasting a few sentences at a time into my response. It's a bit cumbersome, but it works. It continues to amaze me that I have friends in Cuba, and that there are computer programs that enable me to converse in ways otherwise impossible.
Bit by bit, I'm learning to read Spanish, but it is slow going for me. Having the Spanish-English New Testament is very helpful, as I can quickly reference words and phrases I don't know, plus I am familiar enough with the English versions that most of the time I have a fair idea of what is the Spanish says.
Tonight I've had to stay home from men's group in preparation for the colonoscopy scheduled for tomorrow. Routine stuff, but it does disrupt plans. While waiting for everything to kick in, I spent an hour or so practicing my bass skills, which while certainly not legendary, are getting better. I've watched skilled bassists play; their dexterity leaves me in the dust, but I am learning to read the sheet music, and can play some of the music in a halting, on-again, off-again manner. I'm afraid that for awhile, I'll be more of a hindrance than asset to the jazz band, but no one else was standing in line to do it, and I've been having fun working on it.
Both my Spanish and my music are stretching me, requiring me to develop mental and physical skills. It's not rocket science; I just keep chipping away at it. One of these days, it will start to come more fluently; until then I just keep at it. John Maxwell used to say, "Practice doesn't make perfect; Practice makes permanent. So learn to do it right." I'm learning, and grateful for the opportunity and the time to put into both lessons. Whoever said "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" was mistaken. Old dogs can learn; it just takes us a little longer, and in the meantime we know a few tricks the puppies haven't yet seen, so they better watch out!
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