Guitars: One Songwriter’s Lesson in Giving and Getting from God

Sometimes I am frustrated when I need something for my songwriting and it doesn’t appear. It cannot be found anywhere. It is during those times, that my prayers seem to go unanswered. When I recently needed a new guitar, God taught a great lesson about generosity.

I have recently developed more spasticity in my hands due to my Multiple Sclerosis. That has caused my fingers to go numb and stiffen when I am playing the guitar. I was forced to look for a parlor guitar to replace my beloved Fender Mini-Jumbo (cut-out model). My fingers just could no longer reach across the fingerboard. My dear friend, renowned guitarist Bob Britt, joined me in the search for a guitar to solve my physical dilemma. After trying a least a dozen guitars, neither of us could find a solution to my finger problem. My heart broke, as I had to consider the possibility of giving up the guitar!!  

No matter where a disaster strikes, the healing power of music will survive.

In the midst of my guitar pity party I heard of a blooming musician who had lost his beloved guitar in the recent tornadoes that devastated Oklahoma City. For days, the impression of that splintered guitar, with its detached and tangled strings, ran through my mind. Each time I thought of it, my heart would break for all the musicians without guitars in Oklahoma. I was moved to tears at my own selfishness! So I boxed-up not only my favorite Fender, but also my worn-out Indiana and several guitars I found at the local Goodwill. I know how intimate a musician’s relationship is with their beloved string-instruments. And while I realized that many people of Oklahoma are suffering, my heart breaks most for the singer/songwriters who need their music to help them heal. 

The size of my new guitar is smaller, but the fit is much larger.

As I reached out to help with their healing, I found my own healing. For, in being generous with others, I made room for God to send me a new, special designed guitar. The same day I sent that guitar box off to Oklahoma, I found my perfect guitar! In a used guitar store I found a brand-new Art and Lutherie Godin parlor guitar, complete with built-in tuning and external battery access. The amazing thing was that this guitar was reduced due to its unusually slimmed fingerboard! God knew more about what I needed than I did. But before he could reveal his answer, I had to make room for God to send me a blessing.

Can you tell me about other things that block the flow of your creativity? Has lack of generosity ever block your songwriter? How did you get through it?  

OK, Guitar Gurus, this is your chance to tell me what guitar REAL guitarists fall in love with — this could be great fun to hear.

Photo Credit: JasonAllen19