THE BASS DRUM

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ear will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” — Isaiah 30:21

In the fall of 1978, my family moved from a small town in Connecticut to an even smaller town in the upper Midwest—Mauston, Wisconsin (with about a population 3,651 on Thanksgiving Day. I exaggerate, but you get the picture). My dad had grown up nearby, and he often reminisced about his youth: skating from sunrise to sunset, bonfires on the lake, Friday night football, and the marching band—where he proudly played first trumpet.

“There’s nothing like the sound of an approaching marching band,” he told me once. “Everyone in step, standing tall. And before you see anything else, you hear that big bass drum. That drum keeps everyone together. And when the band passes by, it’s the last sound you hear.”

He loved that steady rhythm. I can still picture him smiling, lingering on the sidewalk until the drumbeat finally faded away.

But while Dad loved the steady beat, I longed for something else. As a teenager, I wanted to be the drum majorette—the one with the shiny baton, dazzling smile, and all eyes on her.

But God handed me something different—something heavier, less glamorous, and far less noticed: the bass drum.

He called me not to dazzle, but to keep the beat. To be steady. To be consistent. To sound out the same truth—over and over—so others could stay in step.

It’s not flashy. It’s not easy. Carrying it can feel weighty at times. But it matters. Because sometimes the last thing people carry with them—the echo in their hearts long after the parade has passed—is the steady rhythm of Jesus Christ.

And when I listen closely, I realize that rhythm is also His voice, guiding me step by step: “This is the way; walk in it.”

Prayer: Lord, thank You for calling me to a life of steady faithfulness, even though I'm not there yet. Help me to walk in step with Your Spirit and to keep sounding out the truth of Christ with consistency and love. May the rhythm of my life point others to You. Amen.

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