Shepherd's Corner is a periodic prayer or article published by the Grace Crossing shepherds for spiritual reflection and encouragement.

By David Lowry, Shepherd

MARCH 2008

Romans 8:28  ... And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Ramblings of David Lowry:

Things sometimes happen in our lives that make no sense whatsoever at the time.  When seemingly bad things or "unfair" things happen it is easy to get mad and allow the event to jade our thinking going forward.  I am sure that I have done this without even thinking about it and truthfully cannot recall what they were but I want to share one experience early in my life that I can now look back on and appreciate.

I started playing the trombone in 5th grade.  There were approximately 25 students in our 5th grade class that joined the band.  One guy stood out from all the rest and was truly gifted in playing the trumpet, I will call him Juan for the sake of this story.  He was so good that he started playing with the Houston Symphony when he was in Jr. High.

The band director that taught the 5th grade class was also the high school band director.  He took a liking to his protégé trumpet player and favored him as you would expect.  As you know, the teacher's pet is not always the most popular student in the class.  When we were both seniors, the election for band officers took a strange turn when the ballots were counted.  The band director came out of his office and announced that Juan was the president and that I was vice president.  Everyone in the band was shocked when this was announced and I received assurances from classmates that they did not know how this happened.

The assistant band director took me aside later that day and told me that I received the popular vote that had always been used in the past to determine the officers but that the band director had decided to give it to Juan.  He said that they knew that I was planning to become a Houston Policeman which at the time required no college degree and that Juan was planning to go on to college.  He said that the role of president of the band would look good on Juan's transcript.  I was hurt at first but quickly realized that I still had the friendship of my classmates and actually had a role that trumped the role of president.

The primary role of the president played out during football season and consisted of going to visit with the president of the opposing team's band.  The role of the vice president was to oversee the loading and unloading of the instruments every time we traveled.  I had been helping load and unload the instrument truck during the first three years of high school.  I was very particular about how my trombone case was handled and loved overseeing the underclassmen in assuring that it and all of the instruments were loaded and unloaded.  I learned to delegate and passed on my passion for keeping all of the instruments in top shape during my senior year.

Now a case could be made that if I had been the president of the band that my life would have been much different but I look back on the way things played out with joy.  I never held anything against Juan or the band director.  Shortly after graduating, the band director invited me to accompany him on canoe trips with other teachers on more than one occasion.  We have kept in touch throughout the years and I hold his friendship dearly.

Juan went on to college on multiple scholarships and played the trumpet until his graduation from medical school.  He is currently a doctor in West Texas.  The band director hasn't heard from him since he graduating from high school.

The assistant band director was not supposed to tell me about the popular vote felt he could do so without me making a stink.  I am glad that I didn't because it would have not done any good for anyone involved.  The band director did what he thought was right at the time and had every right to change the rules on the election because he was the band director.

I was not a practicing Christian during my high school years but I can look back and see how God used the band director, assistant band director and Juan to teach me a great lesson.  I was blessed to experience this "unfair" treatment early in my life to propel me through the seemingly "unfair" treatment that shows up in everyday life.

I hope that everyone that reads this will look back on their life and search for an event that occurred where "unfair" treatment occurred and reexamine their reaction.  Satan loves to skew our vision by using bad experiences in the past to jade what is going on in the here and now.

—David Lowry, Shepherd


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