Pastor John,
I woke up this morning thinking about how as we get older we remember things from our childhood that really stand out. When I was in the 4th grade at Aycock School, I had a best friend named Teresa. She took piano lessons from our principal’s wife, Mrs. Newell. They lived in the teacherage right next to the school. So one day I walked over to Mrs. Newell’s little music room with Teresa to watch her during her music lesson. I sat down on the piano bench beside her and listened to her play “My Hope Is Built” and watching her little hands was so pretty. When she got to the chorus, “On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand”, the way she played those few little notes, making that sound was so pretty. Something about that touched me in some little way.
I remember going home and telling Mama and Daddy that I wanted to take piano lessons and I wanted a piano. Mama said, “Sheila, nobody in our family plays piano” and I said, “I don’t care I want to play and I want a piano.” So they bought me an old piano from an old man named Mr. Collins. It sounded like a honky tonk piano and that is what we called it many times. It was a high back piano that he had cut down and added a pretty mirror across the top. Mrs. Newell was my piano teacher for about 6 years and oh, my, those piano recitals were the beginnings of my nervous stomach. Mama made my fancy dress and Mrs. Newell wanted those piano pieces (as she called them) perfect. We had to play solos and duets, sometimes 2 pianos, with 4 people, 2 on each stool. But the music was outstanding.
All through the years when I would have any kind of problem, that piano was a companion and comfort to me, kinda like a friend, during my good times and bad times, happy times and sad times. Mostly, I played hymns and felt tears come into my eyes so often, even before I received the holy Ghost. Some times I would whisper to the Lord, you were so sweet to let me have little feelings at 10 years old when I first heard Teresa play “My Hope Is Built”. That is such a dear memory to me.
I just found my old Cokesbury Worship Hymnal and looked up that song. But also, I looked in the front of the book and saw a couple of sayings that I had written down. So I took a picture of it for you to see. The one about sorrow reminded me of my times spent with Preacher Clark in the nursing home right before he died. I would read to him from the Bible and we didn’t talk much but when I left, walking down the hallway, I was thinking, Preacher Clark you are still teaching me without saying any words.
Sheila
(Click or tap on photo to enlarge)
