Just Say No? Ha!

Yesterday I did something that I haven't done in a very long time.  I said, "No".  I did it kindly and with great reluctance but it was still very hard because I almost never do it.  It was either lose my pride or my mind.  I chose to lose my pride.  I play the piano, not real well but I do play so of course when people need a piano player, a lot of times they will come to me.  I don't mind doing it at all, especially if the pieces are not too difficult.  This Christmas season I have prayed for things to keep me busy, I need to stop praying for that now.  I am playing about a million times this holiday season.  Almost all of the pieces are not too hard but I have two or three that I've really had to practice.  This last Sunday I was given a piece that needs to be played for Christmas Sunday.  That's less than 2 weeks away.  I tried it yesterday and realized that even if I practiced all day, every day, until showtime I would not do the piece justice and I would be a nervous wreck so I told the person who gave it to me that they needed to find someone better than me.  It felt yucky to say it but when I actually did then I felt this huge weight lift off of my shoulders.  I hate inconveniencing people and always feel like I can do whatever they need me to do but in this instance it was just too hard.  My pride keeps pricking me and saying, "just practice more", but the rest of me is doing a happy dance inside because I don't have to deal with the added stress.  I know I'm not in any danger of making this "no" thing a habit but just this once it felt great to "Just Say No":)