It took me far too long to realize why I started playing the piano in the first place. Sure, I wanted to learn how to play an instrument and impress my friends. But there was more to it than that. Somewhere, deep down, I knew that I wanted to learn to play because I could praise God with the gift He had given me. It took me a long time to learn how to play, I would always hit the wrong notes, or start off in the wrong key. Later on, however, I noticed I was gradually starting to get a little better, each day I saw a little improvement. Finally, I could play well enough to complete an entire song on my own, with no help from my piano teacher. One day, I was capable of playing most of the songs my teacher would give me from just looking at the sheet music once.

After I knew I was capable of playing songs moderately well, I decided to talk to my teacher about joining my youth band, at my church. He said he thought I was ready, but he still had to teach me how to play chords. Because those are what you play in a band, not the individual notes. At first I was a little upset, all I heard was that I was going to have to wait to play in the band. I was being really selfish. It took me another year before I was able to play in the band. Even then I was not fully ready to move on.

I was terrified the first time I played in front of everyone, even though I was playing with several other people. Honestly, my first time playing with the band was dreadful, my hands kept shaking like crazy, and my heart was beating so fast, saying I had a few butterflies was understatement. It required a lot of practice to adjust to playing with other people, but now I am not as terrified when I am playing. I have now learned that it is not about playing something perfectly, or impressing someone, but it is about praising your Lord and God. I am so fortunate to have this opportunity every week.