Counting down to the new year is really more like spring house cleaning; we are asked to allow the cobwebs of all our illusions about ourselves, the world and God, to be cleared away so that He can give us the kind of day, year and life eternal to which we are entitled. One extra benefit is that He does it for us. As we read in the Course, “It cannot be that it is hard to do the task that Christ appointed you to do, since it is He Who does it.” (T518) If we allow Him, He will gently and lovingly take all of our attempts, no matter how feeble or ineffectual, and gently turn them into a symphony of beauty and healing that can be enjoyed by all.

The following story is by my favorite author, Anonymous. Don’t you just love what he/she writes?! Anyway, I think it beautifully shows us how God can create miracles in our lives from just our little willingness.

A mother wishing to encourage her son’s progress at the piano bought tickets to a Paderewski performance. When the evening arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and eyed the majestic Steinway piano waiting on stage. Soon the mother found a friend to talk to and the boy slipped away.

At eight o’clock the lights in the auditorium began to dim, the spotlights came on, and only then did she notice her boy, seated upon the piano bench, innocently picking out “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

The mother gasped, but before she could retrieve her son, the master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. He whispered to the boy, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.” Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side and improvised a delightful obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.

In our lives, unpolished though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and time again, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.” And as we go, He augments and supplements, until a work of amazing beauty is created.

The countdown to now has already begun. Let us realize the miracles that are all around and the Help that is ever available to us.