Piano Hands
Have you ever had one of those days when you try on three different outfits and still nothing looks right! Well it was one of those days. After several unsuccessful attempts to make myself look decent, I gave up, sighed deeply and plonked myself face down on the bed. Time out! after a minute or two, with chin resting on my hands, surveying the messy pile of clothes strewn around me, I thought, ”What’s going on here?”
Now I am always grateful that I have a husband who will come and pray for me when I need help. It doesn’t matter how trivial the prayer request may seem, he will come. This morning, however, ‘the prayer man about the house’ was away on business.
I figured there were a couple of reasons for my feeling overwhelmed. Firstly, my dad wasn’t well and secondly, I was new in town and was getting ready to head off to a church where I knew very few people. Even though I am a fairly confident person, church on my own today was proving today to be a bit too much. I placed my right hand inside my left hand and realised, beyond those feelings, there was another pressing concern.
For the past week my little finger had become achy and sore. The joint had become enlarged and painful. As a piano player in my late 50’s and still planning on doing a lot more piano playing, this joint issue was becoming a considerable worry. I tried massaging it…firmly…grimacing through the pain. I wondered if long term this might help.
By the time I arrived at church and found myself seated, I was still working the joint using rubbing, friction and rotational movements. Not long into the meeting the pastor asked if anyone wanted prayer. He said, “Just raise your hand so those around you can pray with you.” I can’t remember now exactly why I had raised my hand, but it definitely wasn’t for my aching joint. I know this because after the prayer I was very surprised to find that the joint on my little finger felt pain free! I checked it several times during the meeting and found yes, it was still OK.
At the end of the meeting, the young girls who had prayed for me turned around to chat. I thanked them for their prayers and wondered if I should say anything. I didn’t want to say, ‘Hey it seems like my finger has been healed’ and then be disappointed later in day if the pain returned …..’ye of little faith’.
While I was still deliberating whether or not to share, one of the girls interrupted my private thoughts. She said, “When I was praying for you I felt that I should really pray for your hands.” “Oh Ohh!” I thought. Then I really should tell her what had just happened.
That was over eight years ago now. I still have no pain at all in that little finger and, I probably should add, I still play the piano every day!
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