A Master’s Touch
Thirty years ago I had a friend named Bob who had grown up in New England, and then had gone to college at Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland. While he was there he met a young woman named Liz who had grown up in Peabody, Massachusetts. They began to court each other as their undergraduate days wore on, and they got married the summer they both graduated.
Bob took a job in Cleveland with a paint company, and Liz found a job nearby. About six months after they were married, Liz told her husband that she was thinking about getting a piano for their apartment. Bob thought that was a great idea, he’d always wanted to learn to play the piano so they went downtown the next weekend to see what pianos cost.
They walked through the store, and soon a salesperson appeared to answer any questions. They continued to walk until they approached a grand piano when Liz asked if she could try the grand piano out. The salesman said by all means so Liz sat on the stool and opened the keyboard and ran her fingers up and down the keys.
She began to play, and her husband and the salesman were astonished. I recall Bob saying his jaw dropped and hit the floor. He had no idea that his wife could play the piano, let alone play with a master’s touch. A few months later, Liz was the lead pianist for the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra.
She soon enrolled at Harpur College in Binghamton NY to further study the piano, and after several years on the concert stage moved to Paris to study at Fontainebleau. Bob had unknowingly married one of the world’s most talented pianists. It turned out that Liz’s parents, who lived in an apartment above their luggage shop, had a stand up piano in their living room. Liz began to play that piano at a very early age, and developed into a world class musician during her school years. She resented what this had cost her growing up, and decided that she would not play while going to College.
I told you their story because none of us really knows the talent and artistry our mate possesses or might develop. The Bible tells us that we are to encourage each other as long as day follows day. If we do this with the right attitude and with joy, we will discover hidden talents and qualities in our husbands, wives and children.
Indeed you can be the one that opens the future and enables your spouse to become all that he or she can be. You can bless and help. You have a tongue that can build up or tear down. Let’s decide that we value our loved ones and from now on, we will become their number one fan. If we do that, God will move in his invisible Kingdom and bless you the giver and the one to whom you give will be so grateful.
Do you what talents God has given your spouse? You can be the one who brings those gifts out for all of the world to enjoy.
H. Murray Hohns
Category: Living the Faith
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