franz mohr

I went to hear this 80-year old firecracker of a man speak at Steinway Hall this week.

Herr Mohr's hometown was destroyed by the Americans in World War II. He dreamt of being a violinist, but a wrist condition cut the dream off short. Still, his life would be in music. He became a leading piano technician working on the finest pianos in the world for some of the finest pianists of the 20th century.



We could have listened to his stories for hours, and he was bursting with them: smuggling Bibles into Russia, regular visits to the White House, being asked by unbelieving legends whether he had prayed for the upcoming concert, sharing his faith with another who swore he had given up on God and the German language forever.

Who knows why God puts us where he puts us, when he puts us there? Who knows why some dreams get cut off short? Who knows what our unnoted acts of kindness and courage in this life will lead to in eternity?

After the stories and songs, we got to bang around on all the pianos in their showrooms!