I love music. I’m always singing
(or humming if there’s anyone nearby) and during the middle of the day when I’m
working and the middle of the night when I’m supposed to be sleeping I find
myself longing to play my violin. God gave us the gift of music, and like
pretty much everything else, it is to be used for His glory and praise. Some people are not gifted musically, and
that’s ok. In Psalms it says to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. I not a very good singer, so playing my
instrument beautifully is something that brings overflowing joy to my life as a
way to worship my God.
This week, I was temporarily
deprived of that pleasure. Working here at camp, every evening before the
service, the staff present a musical special. I haven’t been able to
participate in it for the past few years due to my work schedule during the
evenings working in the kitchen, but this year I get to accompany two
songs! I was so excited, so nervous, and
just a bit stressed (I got the music two days before the first performance,
which was only going to be for staff, but still…) I spent all of my break
Saturday and Sunday practicing, which amounted to over six hours of practice. I
was transposing a piece, learning to read Bass clef, and play in B Major (which
is a REALLY bad key for strings). It was so hard, but I was able to play it
beautifully after all that time. I’m finally tuning up to play with the
counselors for the first time and….
SNAP!
My bridge collapsed. And as a
result, my sound post (what makes the instrument actually make sound) fell
over. My violin was suddenly unplayable, I’m in the middle of the desert, and I
have no earthly idea how I was going to get this fixed.
But, as a result, I got to see how
God provides, even before my need could be known. A week before I left, some dear friends of
mine gave me $100, to be used however I saw fit. I was planning on putting it
on my scholarship account, since I was planning on using it for school anyway,
but I held off and just stuck it in my violin case and forgot to turn it
in. Well, now I had an expensive repair
that was paid for! But where to get it fixed? I looked into shipping it back to
the guy I normally go to for repairs, but after calculating all the shipping…
It was going to be pushing $200, plus a $50 repair, and plus about 2 weeks of
time. I really couldn’t afford that, but
God is faithful. I was able to find a violin repair shop that was near where
one of the resident staff had to make a stop on Tuesday.
I’m still waiting on it to be
finished (apparently they needed to order parts…), but God has provided
exceeding abundantly above that I could ask or think, or even before I could
ask or think.
Getting ready for this summer, this
promise is going to be big for me. I will need strength I do not have, wisdom I
do not understand, love I do not possess, and patience with those who are
“unpatientable” (as well as protection from those who dislike those of us who
make up words…). : )
It is because of Him that I can play a violin, and because
of Him, I can serve Him with it this summer.
Because of Him,
Missa
