“My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.” (Psalm 63:8)

I am trying to learn more about music—particularly classical music.  I now listen fairly regularly to an AccuRadio station called “Classical 101.”

I encountered a violin soloist named Rachel Barton Pine as part of a concerto.  I’m not a huge fan of the violin.  I do not say that proudly.  I feel that it is a failing in me.  But I rather liked Rachel’s playing, so I decided to see if I could find out something about her.  What a fascinating young lady!

She took up the violin when she was three years old, after she heard some older girls playing in church.  She was a child prodigy, the real deal.

But most fascinating of all was her comeback from a horrific injury in a train accident.  Here is the account, as told in Wikipedia (“https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Barton_Pine, accessed 03-29-2029):

“Metra accident

On January 16, 1995, Pine was severely injured in a train accident in the suburb of Winnetka, where she taught violin lessons.[2][43][44][45][46] As she was exiting a Metra commuter train with her violin over her shoulder, the doors closed on the strap to her case, pinning her left shoulder to the train. The doors, which were controlled remotely and had no safety sensors, failed to reopen, and she was dragged 366 feet (112 meters) by the train before being pulled underneath and run over, severing one leg and mangling the other. Pine was saved by the prompt application of tourniquets by several passengers who disembarked from the train after pulling its emergency brake handles.[43]

She sued Metra and the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company for compensation for her injuries and legal and medical expenses. Metra argued that she made the choice not to extricate her arm from the strap of the violin case due to the value of the instrument, a 400-year-old Amati valued at around $500,000, and thus she carried most of the blame for her injuries. The jury ruled in Pine’s favor.[44] Metra changed its conductor safety procedures following the incident and made other changes to the trains themselves.

Daniel Barenboim, the conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, organized a benefit concert and raised over $75,000 after she was injured.[43] After a two-year hiatus to allow for recovery from her injuries, aided by numerous surgeries and physical therapy, Pine resumed her career.[2]”

I was especially struck by Rachel’s tenacity in not turning loose of her violin!  What would I give a leg not to lose?

And after two years of surgeries and therapy, she resumed her career.  What an amazing lady!

There is a saying, “I’d give an arm and a leg for that!”  For most of us, it is just an expression—and a very exaggerated expression at that.  However, for Rachel Barton Pine, it was literally true.

Is there anything that I would not let go of, no matter what?  Is it worth that much clinging?  Very few things are.  To what or to whom am I clinging?

Jesus?  No, I’m afraid that I am not that intense.  I wish that I were, but I’m not.

But here is the shocking truth: I was apparently so valuable to him that he would not let go, no matter what.  I didn’t cost him an arm and a leg.  I cost him his life.  And so did you.  And so did we all.

Oh, Jesus, I can’t seem to hold on to you, but you can’t seem to let go of me.  Help me to be a good instrument for your concerto performance today.