Piano Tuning

My friend needed a place to house her upright piano (she got a grand!) until such time as her children have their own place and are ready to accept her old piano. I needed a piano to practice on, and help with PrayerSong rehearsals. It is a marriage made in heaven (-:

Yesterday, the piano tuner came. I had dutifully let the instrument adjust to new surroundings, different humidity levels and the change of weather. Now is the time to make sure it is both in tune with itself, and up to pitch A440.

What is there about piano tuning that brings me such pleasure? Drew complained about the constant pounding of the same pitch over and over - and not only did the tuner tune it once, so that all the strings for a particular note agreed, and each note was where it should be relative to its neighbor, but then he went through a second time to bring it up to the international music standard pitch.

I could listen to those vibrations all day. It brings goosebumps and calms my soul. I used to think it was just because someone was doing something nice for me and I felt pampered, but now I think it also has to do with "good vibrations." As I listened to his fingers putting the keys through their paces, watched him as he listened intently, checked out the action, the felts, the hammers, vacuumed the strings and the sounding board, I thought how much better the piano must feel - sort of like getting your hair done and your face waxed.

Perhaps that is what Lent is for believers. Its a time of making sure we are in tune with ourselves, in tune with our neighbors, and in tune with the word of God; vacuuming out the dust and cobwebs of indifference and selfishness, exploring our whole range of emotions and connections, pounding on every area to make sure our actions are solid and good and reliable and right, fixing anything that doesn't ring true.

Ah, a good tune-up. I have an appointment Saturday for my car. I wonder what else needs tuning in my life?