Jeff Adams

Okay, people, either I am totally self-confident or incredibly stupid to post this picture. Yes, that is yours truly in my high school band uniform gripping my beautiful French horn. Yeah, I know it’s a very small picture and you can’t even tell it’s me. I’m not that self-confident or that stupid. So, why would I even risk this potential cyber-humiliation by posting this compromising picture so anyone who happens to access this site can see it? To tell a simple story with a point that may help someone. The point is the title to this posting.

In high school I participated in many activities; I loved music. I was a pretty good French horn player and was offered a small scholarship to a university with an outstanding music department. I could have attended other schools, but I had this dream about music and I followed it. I’m glad I did. There were some wonderful musicians in my university and some went on to brilliant professional careers. I was not a phenom; I was a good musician and managed to keep pace my first year. I loved music and I had this dream.

My second year things were different. I had other interests, too. I loved music, but I also loved being part of the debate team. And, by this time I had committed my life to being a follower of Jesus Christ and I was being strongly pulled to areas of interest in ministry. To just keep playing with the orchestra was no longer a possibility. I was surrounded by people who were totally committed to the music. It’s not that they didn’t have other interests, too. They did. But, they gave themselves to the music. Some of them were dedicated followers of Jesus Christ, too, but they knew they had to follow the music if they were to follow Christ. I wasn’t sure anymore about that level of commitment to music. It would be like being a small scholarship player on a Division I NCAA basketball team and thinking I could just show up and play hoops with the guys a couple of times a week. That’s just not possible at that level. I had followed a dream and it had given me great joy and fulfillment in many ways. I have no idea what type of musician I could have become if I had decided to stick with it, but I’m really glad I dared to dream and followed it as far as I dared.

In the process of turning loose of a dream, God gave me another. I’m glad He did. He blessed me with a wonderful family, the opportunity to travel and minister in many countries around the world, and the chance to touch thousands of lives. As much as the Spanish language is a part of who I am, I was never in Spanish Club in High School. I never dreamed I would speak Spanish. I took Latin and German. By the way, I still love music.