Everything I Am

When I was 10 I had no idea how to play music.  My family was not musical.  No one had taken lessons to learn anything.  No one played any instruments.  But that Christmas my parents gave me a little keyboard, like a lot of kids get for Christmas.  It was maybe two octaves long and could only play two notes at a time.  I wanted one because my friend had one.  But by the end of the week I could play every Christmas song I could sing.  God had put music inside of me.

Almost twelve years ago I was unemployed and I went to town with a stack of resumes and a list of places I could work.  Up until then I had only worked in the food service industry, so a job in hospitality was my goal.  As I was driving that day I felt like God was nudging me to pull over on the side of the road.  And He pointed out that I knew where I was supposed to go.  A friend who worked with people with special needs had told me that the company was hiring and even though I had no interest in working there it hadn’t left my mind.  It was where I was supposed to go.  So I tried to reason.  “God, I have a list of places I want  to work.”  And He responded, “But you’re going to REALLY love what I have for you.”  So I applied and worked for five years with at least 200 individuals with a variety of special needs.  

That job led me to working for five years in memory care.  And that led to me doing activities and, since I’m musical, learning how to implement that into my job.  I saw the effects it had- how people who didn’t usually come out of their rooms did.  How people who hadn’t talked in months would sing.  How people who typically had high anxiety were calm.  Part of this is the power of music, but moreso it’s the power of music that has God’s presence in it.

I was not who I am now twenty years ago, before I invited God into my life.  But allowing Him in and getting to know Him as a friend has forever changed me.  He gave me a different perspective.  He healed things inside that other people had damaged.  He changed me and I started to care more about people outside of my circle and to want to connect with others in a way that I hadn’t before.  He not only taught me how to love well, but how to put it into action.

I often hear as I go to places to play that they look forward to me returning.  I’ve been told that residents talk about me all of the week prior to my visit and that on the day I play they’re still talking about me as they’re being helped into bed at night.  I have the privilege of walking into rooms full of people who are waiting just to see me.  And I have been told several times by residents that “These people need the light that you bring”.

And I can say with all confidence that the light I bring is Jesus.  He is the one who placed music inside me.  He is the one who placed me in the care field.  He taught me how to care about people and help them know that they are seen and heard.  He’s the one who made me want to see and hear them in the first place.  So I have to let you know that if you like the things you see here and you like the things you see in me, you have to be aware that me inviting Jesus into my life was all I had to do with it.  He has built and given me everything.  I am His workmanship.  So if you like what you you seen in me then you should know, He has made me everything that I am.