"When You Lose Your Piano"

What has Jesus commanded us to do?  

Matthew 22:36-40
³⁶Master, which is the great commandment in the law? ³⁷Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.³⁸This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Musicians, there may come when your ministry as a musician changes or even disappears.  I know a wonderful Christian lady who has served faithfully as the pianist of her church for many years.  She no longer is physically able to fulfill that position.  Has her role at the church changed? Yes.  Has her value as a servant of God changed? Absolutely not!  As a matter of fact, she may be able to be a blessing in a more crucial and life-changing part of the ministry.  She might have more time for: prayer, spending time with the Lord on behalf of others, encouraging missionaries, loving her family, writing books, writing music, etc. 

My role as a musician has changed drastically since I first began playing in church thirty-three years ago.  Being the only pianist left at the church (for a few months) meant that I had my "finger in every pie".  I played for the congregational songs, choir, jr. choir, music groups and soloists, and for the offertory every single service.  Did I feel needed? Yes.  Was I good at every position? Not really.  Would I last long doing that? Probably not.

I praise the Lord for the day that Mrs. Joyce Kiefer walked in the church.  I praise the Lord for the day that Mrs. Jo Hovind walked into the church.  After they arrived, I no longer played for the congregational singing, I no longer played for the choir, I no longer played for the offertories, specials or solos.  I only played for the jr. choirs and one singing group.  Wow, talk about a role change.  During those years I began the "C" Sunday School Teen ladies class, worked on the first bus routes to Tyler, Texas, and Shreveport, Louisiana, started college, practiced until my arms dropped off, and began a real walk with God.  God used that time in my life to give me a heart for every ministry around the church.  I believe if I lost my "piano" today, I could find more ministries to keep me occupied! 

Eventually, I did again become the church pianist.  I did regain the position of playing for most all of the groups, but this was because of necessity, not design.  Church splits and staff changes can cause this responsibility shift.  Today, we have many great pianists who can stand alone as a primary church pianist, but that is not necessary in our ministry at this point.  We have a team and no one person is carrying the load. We are able to function in all of the ministries in the church and also have time to be wives and mothers, sisters, and friends.

What if you lost your "piano"?  Would you still love your church and love your God with all of your heart?  I sure hope so.  God might be giving you some space to know that there are so many ways to love and to serve Him.  Prepare yourself for any task and always be ready to be used wherever God wants to use you.