God's Page-Turners

When the choir director at our church resigned, my wife and I were blessed with the opportunity to take over the ministry for awhile.  It was great fun and we enjoyed it immensely.  I got to wave my arms at people while she played the piano.  She covered up most of my mistakes and kept everyone together in spite of me – she is absolutely amazing!  My children are all very talented musicians and we often utilized then as page-turners for Mom when she needed that. 

At a Wednesday choir rehearsal, one of our choir members handed me a copy of the writing below.  Her friend had come to our church one Sunday and felt moved to write this.  I found it very sweet and thought I would pass it on.

God’s Page-Turners

One Sunday I was attending Bethany Baptist Church in Puyallup with our children.  Led by their director, the small choir slipped onto the risers on the stage during the singing of the last hymn.  The attractive pianist confidently arranged her music on the piano as a slender young lady sat down on the piano bench beside her.  At first I thought they both were going to play for the choir.  Hmmm, I thought, I’ve never seen this done before.  Then the director raised his arms, and the pianist began playing the awesome, complicated accompaniment.  The young lady sat still and erect.  Then it became quite clear – the young lady was the page-turner for the accomplished pianist.  Not missing a beat, she quietly turned the pages as the exceptionally talented pianist rendered the beautiful music for the choir.  When the piece was completed, she gracefully left the stage and sat down beside the pianist.

As this was unfolding before me, the thought occurred to me.  We can’t all be amazing performers, but we can be accomplished page-turners enabling others to use their talents to the fullest.  As we travel along in life, it sometimes seems that we aren’t blazing any new trails or doing anything wildly significant for God, or the world around us.  Yet, I wonder, how many times we have turned the page for someone else?  A helping hand or encouragement to another is sometimes the greatest gift we can give.  We may never see our name up in lights, but I believe faithful page-turners will one day hear our Father’s “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

                                                                           - By Jean R. Norton

I've never met “Jean R. Norton”, but what an encouragement it was to read this – a perfect stranger noticing the work of others and taking the time to write it down.  I don’t know if she intended on having this find its way to me and my family, but I’m glad it did and I hope she won’t mind me sharing it further.

           Have you noticed the “good work” of others around you?  Have you taken a moment to share your appreciation for that good work?  Your simple act of encouragement can make a big difference in people’s lives.  I know my kids now have a much greater appreciation of their roles as page-turners.  Even “little” tasks, when done well, can make all the difference

Photo by cauchisavona