Tiger Mom?

Last month Amy Chua caused an uproar in the conversation of our country when her book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” came out. The Wall Street Journal excerpted a part of the book on Jan. 8, 2011 (see article here) just before the book was published and people were talking about this super-strict mom from coast to coast.

While I certainly don’t agree with all of her tactics, I was amazed at the self-discipline she had, which she then imposed on her daughters. The story of her daughter, Lula, at the piano for hours while Amy forced her to practice a recital piece over and over struck me and has stayed with me. Know why?

Amazing Results

Because it worked. Tiger mom, Amy was ruthless and wouldn’t let Lulu get up from the piano. She wouldn’t let Lulu quit. (I would’ve given in hours before!) But the amazing thing is—after Lulu tried over and over to get her brain and her fingers to cooperate in playing separate melodies and rhythms—all of a sudden, she did it. It happened. She got it. Then, she wanted to play it over and over—because she could do it.

• Funny thing about practice. It yields results.
• Funny thing about perseverance. It pays off.

Some things in life take more than average effort. Some things take prolonged effort. There are time we won’t see results if we don’t push harder. Wait longer. Press through.

Time to Persevere

This reminds me of some verses in Hebrews that say, “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a little while, ‘He who is coming will come and not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved” (Hebrews 10:35-39).

That’s right. We are not of those that shrink back. We are they that persevere. Whether it’s a project at work or prayer for a loved one, we need to press on and we need to press through. Sometimes the answer is right around the corner.

Press On

Spiritually, we need to be alert and on our guard. We need to push ourselves forward in our growth in Christ. We need to be challenged. We need to be in the Word. Whatever the battle is we face, we need to be strong and courageous and tenacious!

Because sometimes we just need to play it one more time…

What is it in your life that is calling on you to persevere right now?