For the One

The Holiday season can be a busy time for musicians and one of the highlights of performing with the MoTab, as I was blessed to do, is the annual Christmas concert.  The production team plans for a year, the directors compose special music, special guests are brought in, dances are choreographed, and the Conference Center is decorated.  The word "decorated" doesn't really quite convey how amazingly the huge space is transformed.  The first rehearsal with the choir and orchestra happens on a Tuesday, the special guests join us for rehearsal on Wednesday, and then Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we perform the program as a free gift, to 21,000 people each time.  (See I told you it was a huge space.)  Performing a breathtaking program for 84,000 people in a weekend is an unforgettable experience.  But performing for ONE person on Christmas Day was also an unforgettable experience. 

 

 After watching the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, Brian was feeling the Christmas spirit and called his dad and told him that he would like it if the fam could play at a nursing home or something when we came at Christmas time.  My father-in-law thought that was a fantastic idea and said he'd get on it.  Fast forward to Christmas Eve.  Brian and I were still reeling a bit from just having moved and driven through 4 states and we were still in Fort Worth and were planning to make the drive to Houston after presents were opened and things settled a bit in the morning.  We were not excited about being in the car for 4 hours on Christmas and we would be heading through a giant rain storm.  In fact, a tornado did touch down near our route Christmas morning....anyway....it's Christmas Eve and we find out that my father-in-law Russ has in fact arranged for us to play Christmas carols on Christmas evening at a brain injury rehab center nearly an hour further away from our Christmas afternoon destination.  We were not in the Christmas spirit so much when we thought of how this idea that seemed good at the beginning of December, now seemed like quite an ordeal.  But it had been planned and we would not disappoint. 

 

It turns out that we had a specific mission in going to the rehab center:  to play for one person, to play for Trevor.  Trevor is the 16 year old son of a woman my brother-in-law works with.  He is a miracle.  His mom is an inspiration. 

 

At 6 o'clock we arrived:  2 French horns, 1 tuba, 1 euphonium, 1 cute 9 year old nephew who had learned to play Jingle Bells on the trombone for the occasion, and Elliott, Lily, and my other nephew Thomas holding jingle bells, along with my mother in law and sister in law there to corral kids and help carry music stands.  

 

 

We played in the first floor lobby for Trevor and his family before heading up to a couple of other floors.  As the first notes of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" echoed down the hall, I had tears come to my eyes.  I was so happy to be there, in that moment, giving to Trevor and his family, complete strangers to me a second before, and now sharing a tender Christmas moment.  At a time when I was feeling a bit down about my husband's job ending and having to move, it brought perspective to visit others who would most likely trade their trials for mine in a heartbeat.  It was awesome to see the nurses so excited and some patients and their families poke their heads out of the rooms.  We brought extra music books for the audience and they sang along as our little family brass quartet played Christmas favorites as they requested them.  One family said to us, "Thank you so much for playing.  You've made our Christmas really special." 

 

I don't write this to toot my own horn, =), but rather to remind myself that I can do something to brighten another's day.  God has given me a gift and while the chapter of my life where I regularly serve in an orchestra has come to an end, my ability to serve others with this gift is still there.  Sometimes we have flashy opportunities but other times we go out of our way to do something for one person.  And as is the case with most service opportunities, you find that as you lose yourself, or what you had planned for your evening/day/year, and instead, give of your time and your self, you find yourself.  You find greater appreciation for your blessings, more depth to your life, more peace, and joy.  Whether we are kissing a scraped knee, calling a friend, or playing our instrument in a hospital, we are serving as the Savior did, one person at a time.   And nothing can bring more fulfillment to our lives than following in the Savior's footsteps.