One of the things that I
have been struck with this year is the acute awareness of how each of us are
carrying our own burdens. And I don’t
mean that in a negative sense, as in we are all alone carrying these
burdens. What I mean is that pretty much
all of us face each day with a smile of sorts on our faces, and most of the
rest of the world doesn’t have a clue about the struggles going on in our
hearts.
We try to hide the pain. We try to push it away, so it doesn’t show on
the outside. We keep it tight to
ourselves so that the outside world doesn’t have a clue what we are going
through. Sometimes we fail. Sometimes we lose it just a little. But for the most part, we tend to bury our emotions,
and no one would be the wiser. . .unless we take the time to dig into others.
I was struck by this
thought again especially this fall after losing 3 of our family members within 6
weeks. One of my piano parents had made
the comment that they couldn’t believe that I could still teach piano after
dealing with these deaths. What she didn’t
know is that I was in the middle of a piano lesson and had to finish out my day
after I found out that my brother-in-law went to be with Jesus. Not sure how I did it. The day I found out that my father-in-law had
died (which was the day after I found out that my nephew had been killed in a
car accident) I had to right away go into teaching 12 students. We move on.
We compartmentalize and do what needs to be done.
And so, having done that
these past few months, I’ve realized that so many people are walking around
doing the same thing. So many people are
walking around shrouded in pain that we don’t see etched on their faces, but if
we were to dig – even just a tiny little bit – more than likely we’d find out
about some of the struggles they are facing.
Not all the struggles are “big” like a death. I can tell you that more than likely most of the
struggles wouldn’t be that life changing, but they are BIG to the person
walking that road. It might be a family
member not following Jesus and the agony that brings. It might be a defiant child that causes
upheaval in the family. It might be the
day to day dealings of a child with needs or special health issues. It might be a marriage that is falling apart
at the seams. But we each go
forward. We put on the “life is fine”
face and move through our days.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying it’s wrong to do that. We need to do that in order to function each
day. But what I was reminded of this
year again, was that so often we meet people and they look like they are
fine, but their hearts are broken. Tears
may be right there. Agony may be lurking
right around the corner.
And we have the
opportunity to help. We have the
opportunity to heal. I can tell you that
a mere text from someone telling me that they prayed for me that day has
brought me to tears so many times. A
small gesture like a plate of muffins or cookies can soften the most difficult
moments. And truthfully a hug from a
friend can ease a lot of pain and agony during life’s difficult moments.
One of my biggest
pleasures in teaching piano is to see a student come into a lesson and realize
that life is tough for this little one, but that I have the opportunity to
change that. It might not be “adult
level” tough, but whatever the case, their face tells a story of a
struggle. And I love to make it my
mission to turn those sad faces into smiles.
It doesn’t always work. But I
LOVE to work hard to send them out of my studio smiling. I generally don’t know what the issue has
been, and I also know it sometimes is the fact that “they have to” be at
piano. I remember having one student
come for lessons and I could see life had been tough. The first few songs were evidence that his
heart was not here. Tears were close. And so, I said “let’s forget about playing
today”. Let’s do something that has
nothing to do with practicing, scales or work. And then the tears came. I put my arm around him and told him piano
was not important today and that he shouldn’t even give it a thought. I pulled out some of my games (okay, so they
were piano related. . .) and we spent the rest of the lesson forgetting the
pain and just healing and releasing at least for those moments from whatever it
was that plagued him. He left the studio smiling and laughing and at least for
a moment, a little lighter. Other times, I’ve had the opportunity to pray with
students who share difficult things with me.
These are times and moments that I cherish. Those are the moments that I think “THIS is
why I teach piano.” I love helping my
students make music, but even more, I am thankful when I can put a song in
their hearts instead.
I know as adults we don’t
always wear our emotions on our sleeves that way, so finding out how someone is
doing can be more difficult. But it is
possible. And as we move into this new
year, I encourage each one of you to join me on this journey of taking the time
for others. Take the time to check out
how others are feeling. Take time to
smile at a cashier even though they might not be. We do not know what they are going
through. We don’t know the storms they
are facing even though they are holding their head up high. Let’s take the time to consider others. Be patient. But even more, try to find out
what is troubling them. Try to offer
them love. Try to be Jesus to each
person you encounter. Because you never
know what sort of agony, or heartbreak that person is facing at that very
moment. You never know, how your gift of
Jesus’ love, could be the very thing that saves them.
So I encourage you: Be Jesus to Someone Today
