An Inspiration

Today one of my students, Ashley, may be going home to see her Father. Ashley is 13 and has been fighting liver and lung cancer for the last three and a half months. She is a creative, gifted girl who plays the classical guitar well after just a year and a half of lessons. She also puts her own poetry to music and enjoys drawing and painting. Ashley is beautiful and to see her you would think she is older than her 13 years. I can think of no single word that describes her better than "inspiration." Her diligence, intelligence and creativity are truly an inspiration to all who know her. When I began teaching at Berean I decided to hold a practice contest to help motivate my students. Each student was required to practice 30 minutes 5 times a week. Many did extra in an attempt to win the contest! Well, Ashley had my chart filled full of "points" very early in the semester. I ran out of space on the chart for her, while many other diligent students had practiced extra, yet still had half as many points. At one lesson she wryly told me that she hadn't put in as much time as usual, because her parents had told her to stop practicing so much!

In the year and a half that I taught her I watched her grow up from a little girl to a tall young woman. Beautiful inside and out, she always had a lot to bring to her lessons and was a special, extraordinary student. I enjoyed hearing her play a difficult piece at last year's recital. She memorized it and played well. This was after about 7 months, prior to which she had never played a note! To have such discipline at 12 and 13 is inspiring and humbling.

Since they found out the news that she had cancer, this family has been through so much. Ashley has endured procedures and pain and disappointment. Today, I had the honor of talking with her on the phone. I am so grateful to her mom for allowing me this privilege. I could hear the beep of the monitor and her voice, muffled from tubes and wires. I could not understand what she said clearly but they told me one of the things she said was "you don't get tired in Heaven." Praise God that heaven is real to her and that she will be there when God calls her home.

We've been praying for a miracle, for her healing. We knew that God would answer this one way or the other. Now as I think on the realities of Heaven I feel a bit jealous...if God wills she will soon be in His presence, walking the streets of that city and seeing the River that flows through it, being reunited with loved ones, complete in Christ and surrounded by the beauties of heaven. And becoming a far better guitarist than I will ever be.

Ashley, I am grateful to have known you and so proud of you. Our hearts go out to you and your family. You've taught us so much, and we love you.