Make Me a Blessing

'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' Acts 20:35

My sister and I were eager to get to the piano lesson. We didn't mind walking a half hour to get there. She was a good student and was advancing quite fast. I, on the other hand, wanted to arrive earlier, but not exactly for the lesson. Our first piano teacher was quite respected in the community. We were so impressed at her student recital that we asked our dad to enroll us with her for piano lessons. However, I was a terrible student. My teacher introduced me properly to note reading but it didn't make sense. I just saw a random bunch of dots and sticks on the page.

Nevertheless, we arrived earlier every time in order to read the comic books. The teacher had a good stack of them in the waiting area. Donald Duck, Batman, and Archie were my favorites. Since I didn't have a clue about note reading, I didn't practice. Consequently, my teacher scolded me and made me write pages of music notes and symbols. Still nothing made sense. One day my mom sent a basket of sweet homemade bread for the teacher. That day she didn't yell at me and treated me with a special kindness. Suspecting we were onto something, I asked my mom to bake bread for the teacher every lesson day. A few months later we moved to another city and didn't have a piano teacher for many years. Eventually I found out that the teacher told my dad he was wasting his money on me; I wouldn't amount to anything musical. Being an honest person, she wanted my dad to save his money.

One day, my dad arrived home with an old and dusty organ. It didn't make a sound unless you pushed a couple of pedals it had at the bottom. It needed air to make sounds like an accordion. My dad cleaned it up and left it in a corner. Out of curiosity my sister and I started playing with it and eventually I grew quite fond of that old instrument. I spent hours practicing and creating my own little pieces and writing them in a notebook. Out of necessity I forced myself to learn music notation but this time it was for pleasure, not pressure. As the years passed, my interest in music grew so much that one day I begged my dad for piano lessons.

I have been blessed by the best piano teachers throughout the years. Rafael Villa in middle school. Evelyn Mariani in high school. Carlos Flores in college. Courtney Crappell and Kasandra Keeling in graduate school. They all contributed enormously to my musical education.

Ironically, despite a rough start, and struggling with music notation, I became a piano teacher. I ask God every day to make me a blessing for my students in the same way my teachers were for me.

How can you be a blessing for others today?

1
Out in the highways and byways of life,
Many are weary and sad;
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,
Making the sorrowing glad.

Refrain
Make me a blessing, make me a blessing,
Out of my life may Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,
Make me a blessing to someone today.

2
Tell the sweet story of Christ and His love,
Tell of His pow'r to forgive;
Others will trust Him if only you prove
True, every moment you live.

3
Give as 'twas given to you in your need,
Love as the Master loved you;
Be to the helpless a helper indeed,
Unto your mission be true.

Words by Ira B. Wilson