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Nancy's Pansy Page
(Can you tell I like pansies?)
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Pansies
stand for "thoughts". Many times I have imagined that
when God was designing this delicate flower He was surely thinking
of us and how to bring us delight with all of its varied, bright,
and beautiful colors. A pansy's soft petals reflect the
tenderness and care that God shows us in every detail of our
lives. One of my favorite scripture verses is from Psalm 139:17 "How
precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of
them!" As a child I always thought that pansies had faces
and were smiling at me. What a lovely way God has given us for
sharing with others that we are thinking about them. Sometimes a
friendly smile, a spoken word, or a little note to let someone
know that you are thinking about them will make their day. Why not
send someone a "pansy thought" today.
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 As
you can see from my picture above, I am a musician who loves to
play the piano and violin, write music, and sing. However,
my specialty has been the piano. I began studying the piano when I was five years old
under the loving and caring guidance of a dear lady, Mary Helen
Harutun, who became like a second mother to me. Mary Helen
celebrated her 95th birthday in June of last year. Bruce and I
were able to attend her birthday celebration and play at the
reception. Although many years have passed and we are separated by
many miles, Mary Helen continues to be a inspiration to
our lives, not only in a musical sense, but in a spiritual
sense as
well.
I had the wonderful privilege of
doing my undergraduate and graduate studies in piano performance
at Texas Christian University with the acclaimed artist and
Viennese School specialist, Madame Lili Kraus. Her love for
getting inside the music and her inspiration that came from God
taught me so much more than just perfecting my skill. I will never
forget what she told me that "playing the piano required
faith in God, faith in the music, and faith in yourself."
When I told her that Bruce and I would be leaving for Buenos
Aires, Argentina to be missionaries she wanted to know how she
could be a missionary too! In many ways, during the years that she
was alive and traveled all over the world giving concerts, she was
a missionary as she gave God thanks for all He had done in her
life. Praise
the Lord with the harp, make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to Him a new song, play skillfully, and shout for joy.
Psalm 33: 2-3 |
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What is
my passion? . . . not pansies, nor piano . . . but to pursue
Christ, to worship and obey Him, and to use my musical gifts to
bring glory to His name. I have felt the hand of God on my life
since I was very small. I was privileged to grow up in a Christian
home with parents who took me to Sunday School and church every
week. As an 8-year-old, I realized that Christ had died on the
cross for my sin as well as for the sin of the world. I
trusted Jesus to be my personal Savior and was baptized soon
afterwards in obedience to His Word. Throughout all these years I
have believed that God has had a plan for my life since the day I
was born. Every day is an adventure to see where God will lead me
and how He will use me to fulfill His purposes and His greater
plan. I believe that every person He has put in my path has been a
part of that plan. It is my prayer that I too can be someone
whom God puts in the path of another person that will help them
draw near to Him and worship Him.
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What is
important to me besides God and music? . . . people! God is
all about love . . . and love is all about relationship, with Him
and with others. I have been so blessed by the people that God has
put in my life: from my parents, husband, children, extended
family, friends, teachers, colleagues, missionary family . . . to
the people I have met from the States and all the way to South
America. It takes time and effort to establish relationships, but
it is well worth it because you receive so much more than you
give. My life has been so enriched by the people I have met and
have come to know. That's not to say that I have to be around
people all the time. Times of solitude and times alone with God
are an important part of my life, but our lives would be very
empty if we did not have others to share it with. One of our
dearest friends who lives in Ft. Worth, Texas, once was teaching a
Sunday School lesson on "Treasures in Heaven" (Matthew
6). He commented that the "treasures" that we will take
to heaven with us will be the relationships that we have formed
here on the earth, and those who have also placed their faith in
God. If you have relationships with others here on earth who have
not yet received Christ's salvation, wouldn't you desire for them
to be one of your "heavenly treasures" as well? |
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This page is still under construction
Floral graphics are used with permission of Pat's
Web Graphics
nancymuskrat (at) gmail.com
rev. 10-Sep-2006
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