Debbie Sims handed her husband, Jack, his final Christmas gift. 

“Oh, I thought we were done,” Jack said. “I guess this little guy was hiding behind all the big packages.” 

Debbie smiled her brightest and told her husband of 30 years not to worry. 

“It’s just something I picked up last weekend.” 

Jack opened the lid and stared down at some kind of certificate, with blue printing on the antique paper: “Good for 10 organ lessons at Conservatory of Music.” Debbie had filled Jack’s name in the blank in her best handwriting. 

Jack held the certificate in the air and shrugged. Debbie noticed his confusion. 

“Jack, in the 30 years we’ve been married, you’ve said dozens of times how you always wanted to take piano lessons. I know it’s the organ, but it’s similar. And I got this certificate at a business expo for only $10.”

Jack explained that he wanted to study piano as a child. Now he was 51. He handed the certificate back and apologized that he’d never use it. “I’m sorry you wasted your money,” he said, and gave her a hug. 

Jack could imagine himself bumbling through an hour of hitting wrong notes and leaving for home feeling like a 10-year-old who can’t recite his alphabet. As a retired highway department maintainer for more than 32 years, Jack knew he had above-average intelligence. 

He also knew he was too old to learn a musical instrument. 

Practise Makes Perfect?

Over the following week, Jack forgot about the lessons. But apparently, Heather, the organ teacher who sold Debbie the certificate, hadn’t. 

One Thursday night shortly after New Year’s, the Sims’ phone rang. Jack heard Debbie answer it, then explain that he’d decided not to attend the lessons. After a long pause, she said, “Let me call you back.”

Debbie walked over to the couch where Jack sat watching a game show. 

“Jack, it would make me happy if you’d at least go to the first lesson on Monday.” Her voice warm and kind, Debbie explained that everyone there was also a beginner. “If you go and don’t like it, I’ll never mention it again.” 

Jack agreed to try just one class. 

“That first lesson brought back the awkward feeling of reading an essay in front of the class,” Jack told Debbie after he returned home. “When it was my turn to play, I was nervous, but I was able to. Probably pretty badly, but it still felt rewarding.” 

Jack then told Debbie how the conservatory planned to deliver a mini-organ to every student’s home for him or her to practise on. Debbie grinned, refusing to say, “I told you so.” Instead, she simply remarked how generous it was of them. 

Helen Sings

When Jack asked Heather a couple weeks later about reading notes, her mouth dropped open. She was amazed that Jack had already started to learn notes. 

Heather complimented him on his eagerness to learn. She never added, “at your age.” Even though learning a musical instrument as a senior was a challenge, Jack found it rewarding. 

Heather made the class fun. She didn’t force anyone to play but asked for volunteers. They enjoyed a pizza party or a carry-in lunch every so often. They also had a Christmas party. 

After Jack had taken lessons for a month, their son, Joel, called and said he’d seen a portable floor model organ at a furniture store near the music conservatory for only $100. Jack decided to pop in after his next lesson and check it out. 

“It sounded pretty good, even to my untrained ear,” he told Debbie. “I now have my own organ!” 

Jack played at home a lot, just for his own enjoyment, and continued to take lessons for six more years. 

One of the first times Jack played for others was at an assisted living facility near his home. He started with Beatles and Elvis tunes, but when he played The Old Rugged Cross, all the residents starting clapping and singing along. He continued with several other hymns and everybody loved them. 

Afterward, the activities director approached Jack as he was packing up his portable organ. 

“Jack, the lady sitting over there in the navy-blue outfit is Helen,” Sheila said. “She has dementia and has not spoken in the two years she’s lived here. But when you played In the Garden, I saw her lips move, so I walked over near her and heard her sing with you.” Sheila’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears. “You know, studies have shown that for dementia patients, music is the last thing to leave the memory. Your music helped Helen remember. I’m so grateful.” 

Jack’s life can be defined by the Bible verse: “A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great” (Proverbs 18:16). What could be greater than bringing an elderly woman’s memory of beloved hymns back to life? 

What could be greater than bringing an elderly woman’s memory of beloved hymns back to life? JEANETTE LEVELLIE

A Childhood Dream Brought to Life 

A few years ago, 10 years after that unwanted gift and Heather’s fateful call, Jack saw a massive, big-as-a-cockpit organ online for $1,600. A gentleman was selling his mom’s organ because she was now in a nursing home and would never return home again. 

“I looked at it for several weeks,” Jack said. “No one wanted it.” He asked Debbie what she thought. Even thrifty Jack felt like $1,600 was a lot to spend on a hobby. 

“Go for it, Jack,” Debbie said, completing her encouragement with that winning smile of hers. 

Jack called the seller and arranged to go look at the organ at his storage unit. After Jack played the huge instrument for a while, he knew he wanted it. “But will you take $1,200?” he said. The seller jumped at that price, even though the original organ was worth $40,000. 

The man loaded it into Jack’s truck with the help of a couple of men Jack paid for the use of their muscles. “When I drove the organ home, I had no way to unload it until Sunday when several guys from church could help me bring it into the house. But I just couldn’t wait to play this magnificent instrument!” Jack climbed up in the truck bed, took the cover off the organ, and sat in the garage to play. When Debbie got out of her car that afternoon, Jack heard her laughter between notes. “I only hoped the neighbours were as delighted as Debbie was to hear their afternoon concert.” 

Playing the piano is something Jack always wanted to do as a kid, but he never thought it would happen. “God used Debbie to help nudge me in the right direction, to bring my dormant dream back to life,” Jack mused “Sometimes I look at my hands as I play. My heart swells with amazement and gratitude. I think, Is this really me playing all these beautiful songs, God? And I imagine I can hear Him applauding and singing along.” 

Just like Helen. 

Photo: Dmitrijs Mihejevs/Stock.Adobe.com