A Godly Influence

When I think back over my life, there is one person who stands out in my mind as having exerted the greatest influence. Her name was Debbie Foster, and she was my piano teacher, Sundayschool teacher, Pastor's wife, and role model.
As my piano teacher she opened up the world of music to me and taught me to appreciate the great composers of the past, such as Chopin or Beethoven. She taught me not just to play notes on a sheet, but to put expression into it - to make my music an extension of who I am.
As my Sundayschool teacher she taught me values and principles that have stayed with me through the years. By maturity I have come to realize more and more just how full of wisdom her instruction was.
As my Pastor's wife she was an example of a Godly help-mate in ministry. She did not hide the harder aspects of the ministry, but gave herself wholeheartedly to the work. I was greatly inspired by her example, and was encouraged in my own desire to go into ministry.
As a role model, she was someone I admired and looked up to in all the roles she filled - wife, mother, pastor's wife, teacher, and musician. I saw in her marriage a love and commitment that I desired for my own future marriage. In her mothering, I saw the frustrations and grief of motherhood, yet also its' joys and rewards.
She was in many respects, someone I wanted to copy as I grew older, and that desire has affected me as I have gone through all the changes and events of life. Debbie was someone who drew out my talents and inspired my dreams and for that I will always consider her to be one of the most influential people in my life.