Over the last 20 years, my husband Brian has had a stroking condition. And,
over those years as each one hit, it would steal a little more from him. The
accumulative effect left him nearly unable to speak except in a raspy whisper.
Can you imagine a missionary preacher/teacher
unable to speak?
Not only that, but the stupid
strokes stole some use of his hands. Brian’s an avid musician and music lover. He
played guitar beautifully. Singing and playing had been his joys—that and
ministering.
So, when not only his voice
diminished but the use of his ability to play guitar, we wondered what to do.
First, we tried guitars with a narrower neck. Then less strings. But the time
came when Brian despaired that his guitar-playing days were over.
Brian enjoys listening to all types
of instruments—historical ones intriguing him always.
One day, as he browsed the internet
and listened to some ancient examples on YouTube, he announced, “I’ve found an
instrument I think I could play!”
“Oh, wow!” I exclaimed as he turned
his laptop for me to see. I bobbed my head in surprise and wondered at this thing
he discovered. “What in the world is THAT?”
“A nyckelharpa.”
“A nickel-what???” I raised an
eyebrow.
He slowly repeated, “Ny-ckel-harp-a.
It’s a Swedish instrument, nicknamed keyed-fiddle!”
I could see the joy flow into his
expression as he explained further.
“All I’d need to do to play it is
press the keys and bow with my other hand. I could do that.”
“Then I think we should get you one,”
I said, hesitating before asking, “but how much are they?”
“That’s the problem. They’re really
expensive. In the thousands.”
“Yikes!” I exclaimed.
We were quiet a bit while we
continued to listen to the broadcasted nyckelharpa. The player was amazing, as
were his songs.
When the music ended, I said, “I
think you should get one. I don’t know how, but it seems a need—not just a want.”
“We can’t afford it.” Brian turned
his laptop back toward himself and muted it.
“Well, we’ve asked God for big
things before, and He’s done them for us,” I said.
“We’ll see.”
Not long after this conversation, our
mission board’s regional director visited for our annual review. As Ken asked
Brian about ministry then health, Brian shared how playing the guitar had
become more difficult.
I chimed in. “Tell him about your
discovery!”
Ken glanced my way then looked back
at Brian. “Discovery?”
“I’ve found an instrument I think I
could play.”
“What’s it like?” Ken asked.
Brian picked up his laptop from the
side table and fired it up. In minutes he located the nyckelharpa and turned
the laptop to show Ken. “It’s a nyckelharpa.”
“A nickel-what???” Ken exclaimed. “Never
heard of such a thing. What’s it sound like?”
Brian shared a brief sample then
explained how he thought this would work for him with his damaged hands.
Ken smiled and moved to the edge of
his seat. “Then you should get one.”
“It’s not in our budget right now,”
Brian said a bit quieter.
“Then we need to pray. RIGHT NOW! Let’s
ask God to give you a nyckelharpa!”
And he meant it. Ken prayed with conviction of
one asking and expecting God to provide.
What did God do? He answered.
Long story short, in about 3 weeks
a nyckelharpa arrived at our front door, and Brian began learning how to play
it.
Since June of 2018, this trusty
instrument has been used for the Lord and now, every Sunday in church.
The first time Brian brought it to
church, our pastor told the congregation, “You need to come up after the
service and see this instrument Brian’s got.”
Folks gathered afterward, and Brian
explained, “This is a nyckelharpa.”
“A nickel-what???” some asked.
And so the story goes each time we bring
this answer-to-prayer to a new place!
God never failed to meet our needs—ever.
He even went so far as to gift my hurting husband with something as strange as
a nyckelharpa, which restored some of the joy he’d lost.
I’m writing this on hubby’s
birthday! This memory—one of so many over the years.
So,
to you, hubby dear, you are now entering another year of life—and have added
even more chapters of God’s faithfulness to you. I’m so thankful He expressed
such love and great care to you through the gift of a…nickel-what???
“Ny-ckel-harp-a!”
“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my
father;
there is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they
fail not;
as Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.
(Refrain) Great is Thy faithfulness! Great
is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed Thy hand hath provided:
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”
(from the hymn GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS
by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923, public domain)
And before you go—Here’s a nyckelharpa duet
by two excellent players:
Bach Double on nyckelharpa
(youtube.com)
#answeredprayer #music #strokes #nyckelharpa
#bcminternational #Godsfaithfulness
