To my very first instrument,
You were gifted to me on my first birthday, and your pretty red lid let me know that you carried some kind of magic. You were only four inches off the floor, but when I sat in front of you, all of the fun began. It was then that I could access your little black and white keys with my tiny fingers. You were like Schroeder’s little piano from the Peanuts comic strip.
Resting behind your keys was a strip of paper with colorful squares that heightened my expectations of fun. But when I pressed those keys, a different world was opened up to me. The keys produced bell-like tones that got higher as I moved to the right. The timbre was so pleasant to my ears. I could play multiple keys together, and I could play rhythms of my own choosing. No one ever told me that I was playing you the “wrong way”.
I could not yet know that you were showing me possibilities for my future. It just seemed like a normal part of my life. As my pre-school years continued on into primary grades, I imagined that all of my young friends could understand these wonderful musical sounds. I recently discovered that my mother wrote in a journal that my favorite toys were those that made music. (By the time I was three, my parents had given me a toy saxophone at my request, which I called my “horn”, as well as a “Romper Room” rhythm instrument set.)
My school years were filled with musical enjoyment as I performed on the violin with my friends in elementary orchestra. I learned to read notes very quickly, and my time playing with you helped me understand it right away. High school brought performance trips across the country, and then in college, I toured Europe as a clarinetist with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra. I witnessed how the language of music could unite people that spoke different languages otherwise. Something else was happening, too.
A fellow student musician on the tour shared Christ with me on the plane trip. When we returned to the U.S., I visited my friend’s church and started attending a Bible study on the Washington University. campus. Within weeks, I made a decision to follow Christ. Soon, I understood my musical gifts in a different way. Little toy piano, God put you in my life to begin a lifelong musical journey for Him. I learned I could bless people with this gift during all the major occasions of life: Graduations, weddings, anniversaries, funerals, corporate events, sports events… almost any occasion that required music.
Little toy piano, thank you for starting me on a path full of blessings, the best of which was salvation in my Lord Jesus Christ. People find it hard to believe your profound impact in my life from such a young age, but with God, all things are possible. You’ll be happy to know that I found a little toy piano for sale just like you to give to my first grandchild, and she seems quite taken with it. I’m so grateful for the countless hours I spent with you, learning a beautiful new language!
With everlasting thanks,
Linda
Linda Gurney has been working as a free lance musician (piano and clarinet) in the St. Louis area since her freshman year at Washington U., where she received her B.A. in music performance in 1978.
Widowed for 14 years, her three grown children all live nearby as do her three grandchildren: Adelaide, age 3, her brother Connor, age 1-1/2, and Henry, age 1-1/2.
At Central Presbyterian Church, Linda loves being involved in the Widows/Widowers ministry and assists in planning their activities. She recently became involved in the Access Sunday School class for mentally challenged adults and enjoys engaging the participants in music.
Stooping For Manna 
One thought on “To My Very First Instrument – by Linda Gurney”