An Unexpected Lesson From Broadway

Last week we took our oldest daughter to New York for an early graduation gift, she’ll receive her Masters in Christian Counseling in May. We love New York in the winter because the crowds are smaller and Times Square pretty much empties at night. It’s cold, but it’s magical! 

We saw two shows, The Great Gatsby, which was good and Sunset Boulevard, which was breathtaking! I think Sunset Boulevard is my all time favorite (right now). It is a tragic tale, pretty dark at the end, but such a picture of where we could end up if our identity is wrapped up in something that is fleeting, like youth and beauty and fame. The talent of the cast and the vision/creativity of the director left me wishing I could go back again and again.

But we had an interesting conversation, after both shows, that started my pondering. Many shows (not all, but a lot) often leave us underwhelmed after the first act. But then the second act finishes and our view of the entire show changes to awe and amazement. 

Often the first act tells the backstory, it is a time of character development, a time to show us what brought them to the place we find them in the second act. But sometimes it can be tedious and maybe even a little boring. It’s the second act where we get to their heart…. Here we find who they’ve really become. We’ve usually seen glimpses, or a foreshadowing in the first act, but in the second act, they are on full display. 

We meet their brokenness, their greatest fears and their hopes and dreams. We may find hidden strengths, or weaknesses that will make or break them, that determine if it will be a tale of overcoming, or a heartbreaking tale of tragedy and darkness. And sometimes we get to see beauty rise from the ashes. In the second act, it is often, though not always, that we feel our deepest emotions about what’s happening. And it is often, in the second act, that I find a deep compassion for the ‘villain.’ The second act often has the biggest moments, the biggest songs, the climax of the story.  

I admit, I sometimes get impatient in the first act. It’s hard to sit in the story and wait for it to unfold. But before I know it, we’re to the second act and then the show is over. I’m often sad when I know it’s nearing the end and I want to stretch out the last moments. And sometimes I regret that I was impatient to get through the first act.

But it occurred to me, how I watch a show is often how I live my life. I’m often in a rush to get to the second act, to know what happens, and to experience something bigger, something more than the day to day moments of life. But what God has been teaching me this past year, is that in every step of every day, this is where He is shaping and molding who I am becoming.

This past year, on all of our hikes, it wasn’t the big moment of finishing the hike that shaped me, it was every single step I took, and sometimes fought to take, it was the rocks I scrambled over and skinned my knees on, it was the fear of heights and ladders and creek crossings that didn’t stop me, but empowered me and gave me confidence. It was in each step that God taught me more about Himself and myself. Like a great play or musical, it is the day to day moments that God uses to soften and till the ground of our hearts so that life can grow and flourish.

From now on, I will watch musicals and plays from a different perspective. I will not be so anxious for the second act to come, but I will savor every single word, every note, every dance step that is necessary for the story to be complete. Yes, there will be a big moment at the end, but it will be made up of the little moments that have been acted and sung well.

And I will spend this year intentionally doing the same in my day to day life. For example, we have some really big hikes planned for this year and I can’t wait. I am so excited. But there are a lot of little moments that have to be lived well in order for the big moments to be what I’m dreaming of… every step on a treadmill or a stair stepper will make a difference, every contraction of my muscles as I work to make them stronger, and every bite I put in my mouth will determine how well I finish. But even bigger than that is remembering this... every word I speak, every tone of voice I use, every look I give can have a tremendous impact on relationships with the people I love, and the people I may encounter every day. 

Ultimately, the big moments can’t happen without the small moments. I am turning 60 this year and I don’t want to get to the end of my days and, like I sometimes feel in the theater, regret that I rushed through the small moments and missed the possibility of every single one of them and what God was doing in them. Let's decide to make the moments count in 2025.