Music Speaks

Maurice Denis (French, 1870-1943); mother and child

During my husband's residency, my pursuits turned inward as I became a stay-at-home mom.  But avenues of expression always reveal themselves, and this particular instance was one of them.

Sadly, a nurse that worked with my husband delivered a baby who had heart disease; the baby boy had died at only 3 weeks of age.  Such a tragedy definitely brought on a reality check for many, and a reminder that sorrow in this world leaves no one behind.

So how do you help in times like these?  How do you reach out and comfort someone in the midst of their heavy loss? First of all, prayer is powerful--bringing them before God and begging for His comfort and grace.  In addition, my husband asked me if I'd be willing to play the piano for the funeral services, and of course I consented.  I remember meeting with another nurse to go over a solo, and working on the music with a very heavy sense of loss for this family.  The services were beautiful, but even as I sat on the piano bench, tears streamed down.   Not even knowing them, I felt the burden with them.

In a strange way, I felt like my music sort of spoke for my husband words that he couldn't say.  I think it was his way of helping and encouraging when there was nothing he could do personally.  In fact, he couldn't even be there at the services because of his work schedule.  So in effect, I represented him with my music.  And once again, our worlds merged in a way I never could have imagined.