We have the
ability to train our bodies to move in precise, exact ways without even
thinking about it. Basketball players
spend hours practicing foul shots in order to be able to make the shot during
the game. Violinists have to put their
fingers on the exact right places on the neck of the instrument, and
trombonists must position the slides on their instruments in the exact right
place in order to play the note on pitch.
Jazz legend Jaco Pastorius did the same thing with his bass guitar,
which was specially adapted for this purpose.
Good typists know exactly where each letter is on the keyboard without
even thinking about it.
This skill is
called “muscle memory:” the development of a procedural memory that comes
through repetition. Eventually, it
becomes second nature, and you’re able to move your fingers or legs in a
precise way without even being aware that you are doing it.
The key to
developing muscle memory is repetition.
You do the same thing over and over again until you’re sick of it. And if what you’re trying to do is play the
right note on a violin, everyone within hearing distance might also get sick of
it as well! Eventually, with enough time
and practice, “muscle memory” kicks in.
On demand, you can play a D flat on the trombone. Your arms
automatically give the ball exactly the right push to make the basket. You don’t even think about which finger
you’re using to press “T” on the keyboard.
It doesn’t happen overnight. But
with enough patience and persistence, you develop muscle memory.
What is true
for our physical muscles is also true for our spiritual muscles. Over time and with practice, our spirits are
able to develop seemingly-automatic patterns.
Then, when a particular challenge comes our way, our spirits are
properly prepared to turn to the resources that God provides for us at such
times. I have seen people far-gone into
dementia spring to spiritual alertness when they heard the words of institution
of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. A
family who recently experienced a devastating loss found great comfort by
repeating the Lord’s Prayer. Many people
have told me about the comfort they find during times of need or of loneliness
through the old familiar hymns that they sang for years. These are some people who reaped the benefits
of spiritual muscle memory, because their spirits effortlessly found comfort
and guidance when they needed it.
Ritual and
tradition play an important part in our lives, because they are the ways that
we develop spiritual muscle memory, which we can rely upon when we need
it. Our spiritual habits, from the
familiar liturgy of Sunday worship to the regular routine of daily personal
devotionals, help to train us so that it becomes easier and easier to recognize
and respond to God’s leading.
How’s your
spiritual muscle memory?
