For the Love of Music

Last night was a night I will never forget!

I have been a piano teacher for over 20 years. When I first started I was so green. I had no clue how to teach or even how to deal with children, I was 20 something and didn't even have kids of my own! I left the job for many years until I started having kids.

When you first have a new student, there is a learning curve for both the student and the teacher. It takes time to build trust and confidence, it is building a relationship. There are so many different personalities and I have so many different ages. Thank goodness I have been through most of them with my own kids. We all have many moods and many differing opinions. At times music can be difficult, it is a discipline and sometimes the concepts are hard to understand and I have to be creative so each person will understand.

Each and every one of my students have taught me so much about life and how to be a better teacher. Sometimes they make mistakes, sometimes I make mistakes. In the end, what matters is what we learn from our failures and how can we be better people.

Tonight I saw some of my longest dedicated students sing and play a tribute. It was like a proud parent, watching how these small children had grown up and take on new personalities, more mature, more confident, more beautiful because you could see Jesus flowing through their voice, their fingers. I saw myself in them.

Like a parent, you invest so much of your time and energy into a person, only to help them grow and then watch them fly away. When they fly away it is like a part of your soul flies away too. So many memories went through my mind as I watched these ladies grow older from being little girls. I can't imagine how hard it will be for my own to fly out of the nest and what a empty feeling it will be. I felt a small part of that tonight in releasing two of my students. You invest, you love, you let go.

It truly is the circle of life. I had 10 new students this year, the youngest being 5. My cycle starts over and I will see the young ones grow up to be in junior high. The hard part is watching some of them quit because of other interests or lack of interest.

For me, music is truly healing to my spirit in so many ways. I can't tell you how many times in my lifetime I have had certain emotions or events take place that I went to the piano and healing took place when my fingers hit the keys. No one will ever know the joy that I feel when I play with my band on Sunday morning. It is for these reasons that I teach; for me to share the love of music with young children, a blessing to be shared.

For every student that played, it was such a proud moment for me, to hear them play so beautifully, to see the smiles and share in the successes! For me, it wasn't a performance, it was a true reflection of each individual and their creative personalities.

To Emma and Dorian, may you continue to develop into the women that God created you to be. May you fly away as confident individuals, yet firmly rooted in righteousness, never too far away from the One who created You. May you use the talents that He has given you for His glory and His Honor! And for all of those students behind them, I will enjoy my moments with you and enjoy watching you grow up too. I am thankful that I don't have to let all of you go at the same time!