Primary Pianist

When we moved into 33rd ward, it had just been divided and they were scrambling to restaff. I was asked casually if I played the piano and I admitted that I played a little, just enough for Primary maybe. Before I knew it, I was called to be the Primary pianist. It turned out that the division had left our little ward with no music people to speak of, and the Primary felt like they scored a point because they had a pianist and the Relief Society didn't.

I had a wonderful learning experience. I practiced the piano more than I had for years, learning new music and polishing up my skills on old favorites. The pianist works with the chorister, of course, but that's all, because the pianist plays prelude and postlude to help with reverence. The chorister was Jennifer Scott, once a high school classmate famed for her immense talents in the performing arts, now a mother and talented chorister for the primary. She overlooked my obvious deficiencies in the performance spheres, and I learned to prepare the best I could, and roll with the punches when things did not go according to plan.

One thing I learned from this experience which has helped me a lot since then is that if I made a little mistake, the kids didn't notice. As long as I kept playing and stayed on beat, everyone was happy. (OK, maybe a few discerning ears weren't, but they never said anything.) I took the first steps in learning that we aren't always called because we're so great; we're called for the Lord's reasons, which might be to teach us, and as long as we do the best we can, the Lord is satisfied.