--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I discovered that I had been made…" description: "\"When I discovered that I had been made custodian of this gift, in my earliest childhood, I pledged myself to God to be worthy of it, but I have receive..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/igor-stravinsky-4697_childhood_when-i-discovered-that-i-had-been-made-c_953188.jpg" --- # When I discovered that I had been made custodian of this… ![“When I discovered that I had been made custodian of this gift, in my earliest childhood, I pledged myself to God to be worthy of it, but I have received uncovenanted mercies all my life. The custodian has too often kept faith on his all-too-worldly terms.” quote by Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/igor-stravinsky-4697_childhood_when-i-discovered-that-i-had-been-made-c_953188.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/igor-stravinsky-4697_childhood_when-i-discovered-that-i-had-been-made-c_953188.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/igor-stravinsky-4697_childhood_when-i-discovered-that-i-had-been-made-c_953188.jpg) > “When I discovered that I had been made custodian of this gift, in my earliest childhood, I pledged myself to God to be worthy of it, but I have received uncovenanted mercies all my life. The custodian has too often kept faith on his all-too-worldly terms.” [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He recounts being entrusted with a divine gift in childhood, pledging devotion, yet receiving unearned mercies, while the custodian often imposes worldly terms. **In simple terms:** He felt a divine responsibility but received unexpected blessings, while the keeper set worldly conditions. Key Takeaway Balance spiritual duty with worldly realities. Themes spirituality faith divine gift human limitation Mood contemplative reflective Type spiritual personal When to use this quote - religious practice - artistic inspiration - life purpose - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts theology personal vow Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to be a custodian of a gift? - How do worldly terms affect spiritual commitments? A Different Perspective May conflate personal experience with universal truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Mercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy/) ## Related quotes > [Let us be sure that those who come after will say of us in our time, that in our time we did everything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/let-us-be-sure-that-those-who-come-after-will-say-of-us-in-our-time/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Who kept the faith and fought the fight; The glory theirs, the duty ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-bruce-matthews-carruthers/who-kept-the-faith-and-fought-the-fight-the-glory-theirs-the-duty-ours/) Wallace Bruce Matthews Carruthers > [My wife and I never gave up. We kept our faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-robinson/my-wife-and-i-never-gave-up-we-kept-our-faith/) [Mark Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-robinson/) > [I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. -Timothy 4:7](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/i-have-fought-the-good-fight-i-have-finished-the-race-i-have-kept-the/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [I partly know why I have not led a perfect life like other believers. But I avow to my Lord, and I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-patrick/i-partly-know-why-i-have-not-led-a-perfect-life-like-other-believers/) [Saint Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-patrick/) > [We struggled together and sometimes with one another. We took care of one another. In the end, we kept faith in each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/we-struggled-together-and-sometimes-with-one-another-we-took-care-of/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [Who kept the faith, fought the fight and gave their life; the glory theirs, the duty ours!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-kept-the-faith-fought-the-fight-and-gave-their-life-the-glory/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-apostle-paul/i-have-fought-the-good-fight-i-have-finished-the-course-i-have-kept/) The Apostle Paul > [We never gave up. We didn't get lost in a sea of despair. We kept the faith. We kept pushing and pulling. We kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/we-never-gave-up-we-didn-t-get-lost-in-a-sea-of-despair-we-kept-the/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) > [Chelsea is a club I've always had a soft spot for as they have kept faith with playing a traditional strong and physical No. 9.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-murray/chelsea-is-a-club-i-ve-always-had-a-soft-spot-for-as-they-have-kept/) [Glenn Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-murray/) > [“Already he knew something of the history of the intervening years. He had heard now of the moral decay that had followed the collapse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/already-he-knew-something-of-the-history-of-the-intervening-years-he/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [Workers have kept faith in American institutions. Most of the conflicts, which have occurred have been when labor's right to live has been challenged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-l-lewis/workers-have-kept-faith-in-american-institutions-most-of-the/) [John L. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-l-lewis/) > [The game has kept faith with the public, maintaining its old admission price for nearly thirty years while other forms of entertainment have doubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-mack/the-game-has-kept-faith-with-the-public-maintaining-its-old-admission/) [Connie Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-mack/) > [“Half of me (pathetically) wanted to let him know I'd kept the faith; half of me wanted to get in the toolshed and sharpen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/half-of-me-pathetically-wanted-to-let-him-know-i-d-kept-the-faith/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [I used to think that my career was to be a police officer, and that is what I was put here to do. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-coleman/i-used-to-think-that-my-career-was-to-be-a-police-officer-and-that-is/) [Ronnie Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-coleman/) ## More by Igor Stravinsky > [Why is it that whenever I hear a piece of music I don't like, it's always by Villa Lobos?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/why-is-it-that-whenever-i-hear-a-piece-of-music-i-don-t-like-it-s/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [The trouble with music appreciation in general is that people are taught to have too much respect for music they should be taught to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/the-trouble-with-music-appreciation-in-general-is-that-people-are/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [I remember being handed a score composed by Mozart at the age of eleven. What could I say? I felt like de Kooning, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed-by-mozart-at-the-age-of/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [We can neither put back the clock nor slow down our forward speed, and as we are already flying pilotless, on instrument controls, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/we-can-neither-put-back-the-clock-nor-slow-down-our-forward-speed-and/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [It is the transcendent (or 'abstract' or 'self-contained') nature of music that the new so called concretism--Pop Art, eighteen-hour slices-of-reality films, musique concrete--opposes. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/it-is-the-transcendent-or-abstract-or-self-contained-nature-of-music/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Composition is frozen improvisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/composition-is-frozen-improvisation/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Money may kindle, but it cannot by itself, and for very long, burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/money-may-kindle-but-it-cannot-by-itself-and-for-very-long-burn/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [One has a nose. The nose scents and it chooses. An artist is simply a kind of pig snouting truffles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/one-has-a-nose-the-nose-scents-and-it-chooses-an-artist-is-simply-a/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Music is the sole domain in which man realizes the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/music-is-the-sole-domain-in-which-man-realizes-the-present/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [One's belief that one is sincere is not so dangerous as one's conviction that one is right. We all feel we are right; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/one-s-belief-that-one-is-sincere-is-not-so-dangerous-as-one-s/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [A composer is not only an architect but also an inventor, and he should not build houses in which he cannot live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/a-composer-is-not-only-an-architect-but-also-an-inventor-and-he/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Harpists spend 90 percent of their lives tuning their harps and 10 percent playing out of tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/harpists-spend-90-percent-of-their-lives-tuning-their-harps-and-10/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Just as appetite comes by eating, so work brings inspiration, if inspiration is not discernible at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/just-as-appetite-comes-by-eating-so-work-brings-inspiration-if/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [My childhood was a period of waiting for the moment when I could send everyone and everything connected with it to hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/my-childhood-was-a-period-of-waiting-for-the-moment-when-i-could-send/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Look for the music on all things, and life will be a symphony of joy. My music is best understood by children and animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/look-for-the-music-on-all-things-and-life-will-be-a-symphony-of-joy/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) [Explore all 107 Igor Stravinsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) ## More Childhood quotes > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [“From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/from-childhood-s-hour-i-have-not-been-as-others-were-i-have-not-seen/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [I had a rough upbringing. Group homes. Foster homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shamrock/i-had-a-rough-upbringing-group-homes-foster-homes/) [Frank Shamrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shamrock/) > [When I talk about my childhood I used to say it as if it was scripted and I'd make jokes because it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/when-i-talk-about-my-childhood-i-used-to-say-it-as-if-it-was-scripted/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Downstairs in my house, I have a museum room. I keep all of my awards down there, and childhood photos, and even all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/downstairs-in-my-house-i-have-a-museum-room-i-keep-all-of-my-awards/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [On paper, it looks rough, but I had a great childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-morton/on-paper-it-looks-rough-but-i-had-a-great-childhood/) [Samantha Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-morton/) > [Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/let-positive-strong-helpful-thoughts-enter-into-your-brains-from-very/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) [Browse all 5,837 Childhood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I discovered that I had been made custodian of this gift, in my earliest childhood, I pledged myself to God to be worthy of it, but I have received uncovenanted mercies all my life. 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