Sacred,  Vocal Solos

He Answers Prayer

This was the first piece of music I ever wrote.  I was thirty years old and musical notation had not been part of my study growing up.  I had been away from studying music for thirteen years and the hand-written copy of this number looked like it.  I was in the process of a life-altering experience (divorce) and my daughter was headed to Disneyland with her dad.  Ouch!  However, would I fill the silence and the ache? 

I had been asked by the Stake Relief Society to play an organ solo at a stake gathering.  The organ was a pipe organ and I had had very little experience (actually none) prior to this request.  I decided to practice right after work.  I spent several hours and was more and more frustrated at the sound I was (or wasn’t) getting.  Finally, I said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to help me.  I told him I was fine with a piano solo, but I could not do this in a shabby way because a general authority was going to attend.  As soon as amen was said the back door to the chapel opened.  The man opening it asked my name because he had been listening to me practice and did not recognize my style.  He was working elsewhere in the building and was quite curious to know who was playing as he was very familiar with all the organists who usually played.  I asked him if he knew who was responsible for maintenance on the organ because I believed something was wrong with it.  Well, long story short, he installed the organ, was the maintenance man for the organ, and was quite familiar with it.  He gave me a 20-minute tutorial which drastically changed my opinion of this amazing instrument and I was off and running.  I spent the rest of my evening in delightful practice time and became a serious fan of this beautiful organ before moving on with my life.

On my way home that night, this melody started bouncing around in my head, complete with the title of the song.  The rest came rather quickly.

Does knowing that I had been inactive in the church for nine years previous to this incident change how you feel about it?