Over Christmas I searched on line for a violin teacher in Denver. It was funny. I told my family that the first man I called was the one. He said he was retired and no longer taking new students, but he felt like he could make an exception for me. We scheduled my first class. I felt a special connection with him right away and was looking forward to starting lessons in January.
Three weeks later, when I returned to Colorado I looked on line again to find the address of my violin teacher before the first lesson. However, I could find no sign of him in the internet. Luckily I had written down his phone number so I called and we proceeded with violin lessons. I always thought it was strange that the first man I discovered when searching the internet three weeks earlier could no longer be found. Mr Meyers told me he had never placed an advertisement, so he was not sure how I located him.
My lessons were supposed to be 50 minutes long. But I always spent two to three hours with Mr. Meyers. He was 84, I believe, when I first met him, and frustrated because his arthritis sometimes made it almost impossible to play his most beloved instrument, the violin. Mr. Meyers had other students in piano and clarinet and I think trombone. But his heart belonged to the violin.
I was a quick learner. He said most students don't pick up the violin as easily as I did. But I loved it. And I loved lessons with Mr. Meyers.
Some days he struggled to climb up and down the basement stairs. He had a lot of doctors appointments for his knees and a special machine to help him breathe while he slept. We talked about his health, about my family, about God and our faith. Over time prayer became a part of my lesson. We both knew pretty quickly that God brought us together for a reason. Still to this day, we are not sure what that reason is, but we are grateful for the friendship God provided for us. Our friendship is a special gift that we both cherish.
As the six months with my brother drew to an end in June of 2009, I told my teacher about my plans to visit Honduras in hopes of becoming bi-lingual. He wished me well and told me that he hoped I would stay in touch with him. I did. Almost every time that I visited Denver I called and set up a time to visit my violin teacher. Once he told me that he was very sick and couldn't meet with me. I was sad and scared. But I knew Mr. Meyers was not a young man.
The next time I visited Denver I was scared to call. But I knew I would have regrets if I didn't. So I called and Mr. Meyers invited me to visit. I brought my computer and showed him pictures of Honduras and the kids I had fallen in love with there. I told him I believed God was calling me to serve there. He was happy for me.
He had cut down on lessons and now only had two students - a boy and the boy's mother. He said he had fallen a number of times. Life was getting harder for Mr. Meyers. I treasured every second with him and made sure I left no words unspoken.
I told him how special he was to me - that I believed he was a gift from God. We talked about the little time we had spent together in reality, but that because of God's love we had a bond that was deeper than we could humanly explain. None of this was new. Since almost the first time we met we had always acknowledged God's work in bringing us together. Mr. Meyer's body was failing, but his mind was sharper than mine. He remembered things I had completely forgotten. I relished every second I spent with Mr.Meyers. Devoured it like a special treat. Because it was.
Last summer when I was back in the US I called Mr. Meyers to set up a time to visit. I always had to brace myself for this phone call. This time it happened. His home phone went straight to a recording, "The number you have reached has been disconnected..." I burst into tears and still cry when I think of it. My Mom was nearby reading a book. I think she knew that the time I had been dreading was finally real. She let me use her car and I drove to his house. All of the curtains were pulled. There was mail piled up on the front step. I stood in the yard and cried. Then I went to neighbors asking if they knew anything about my violin teacher. But nobody had any answers.
I went home and wrote a letter to my teacher. I thanked him for his friendship, for being such a great teacher, and for loving me the way God asks us to love each other. Then I drove to his house, kissed the letter (feeling a little silly and hoping the neighbors weren't watching) and wedged it as tightly as I could into the door frame. I prayed the wind wouldn't blow it away.
My biggest hope was that Mr. Meyers might receive the card. But if not, maybe he had some family and maybe they would like to know what a special man Mr. Meyers was to me. I included contact information for my mother and for myself.
That was three months ago. I have thought of Mr. Meyers a lot since. Especially those first few weeks when I kept waiting for some sort of response. About a week ago I prayed for him, but was honestly starting to lose hope. Then today I received an email. It was a from a man who said he is a friend of Mr. Meyers. The man told me that Mr. Meyers had recently received a very lovely note from me. He listed the phone number and postal address for Mr. Meyers at a Senior Living Center. The man said Mr. Meyers is there due to some health issues, but would like to re-establish contact with me.
I am thankful that God used my relationship with Mr. Meyers to show me that we can find His love in unlikely places, with unexpected people, in unexpected times. God has also shown me how to communicate that love clearly. Mr. Meyers and I both know, without a doubt, how special we are to one another. That is a beautiful gift in itself.
I am so excited. I can't wait to talk to Mr. Meyers. I pray he is happy and not in pain. What a blessing and an honor it is to have a friend like Mr. Meyers. I will always cherish the lessons Mr. Meyers taught me. They go far beyond learning to play the violin.
On a separate, but equally important note, my friend Marlin is going into the hospital tomorrow to have her labor induced. (This is not Clara who is already in the hospital with Leukemia, hoping to carry her baby to term.) Marlin has Lupus but seems healthy and the baby is full term. Last week the doctors made the plan to induce labor tomorrow because there is too much strain on Marlin's kidneys. Marlin was pretty calm today. The leaders of the church came to the Breakfast Program this afternoon and we had a good time of prayer. Tomorrow morning she will leave at 5 a.m. to get in line at the public hospital. The doctors will evaluate her at 11 a..m. but she has to be there before 7 a.m. in order to be seen. We are praying for the health and safety of Marlin and her baby, who may be born as early as tomorrow evening.
