Cheep Trills

Life has been very hectic lately - getting the chicks settled into the new house up in Vancouver, becoming adjusted to the recent purchase of my company with the uncertainties that accompany this, and learning of my friend's recent layoff from his company in the same industry.  Never good news but now in the current economic situation this is particularly distressful.  I look in the mirror and chant my faith-mantra "God loves us and he will provide.  Put your faith in the Lord."  And so I continue and as always my days reflect God's blessings in big ways and small.

In this light I was blessed in a large way this past Saturday.  Our band was fortunate to play for a church fundraiser. (Yes, it's crab-feed time in Sonoma county.  Every group has been holding crab feeds this month.)  Our band is a mixture of gray-hairs and young chicks who all love old-time (and not so old) rock & roll.  We all have our talents so are fortunate to have equal opportunites to solo as well as contribute harmonies or make music.  This gives us the opportunity to perform music from a variety of groups and styles, and in my opinion makes us more interesting.

In the crowd were friends and acquaintences from church who are also muscians and music ministers.  Their presence as potential critics (human nature being what it is) spurred me to give even more than I usually do and I think gave an extra edge to the talent that God graced me with.  So I sang my heart out, as did my fellow band members, and oh, I cannot tell you what a pleasure it was!  All the worries and fears faded away for a few hours in the pure joy of this.  The icing on the cake was to look out over the crowded room and see the smiles on people's faces, the feet tapping as they listened, and best of all  - seeing them sing along on the old favorites as they enjoyed themselves.

When all was ended and the equipment packed up and hauled away I sat by myself quietly and reflected what a gift from God the evening was, and what a precious gift he gave to me.

As a young chick I loved to sing but never had the courage to step forward and try it.  It was not until I married and had young chicks of my own that the Lord literally led me to the first choir and gave me a proverbial kick in the pants.  Look, He told me, I didn't give you this gift to hide under a bushel - I gave it to you to use.  So I took my first timid chirps in that choir, singing beside ministers who became good friends, and learned to love the music of the eucharist.  These special friends helped me hone my talent until finally I stepped up to the microphone alone for the first time to sing before the congregation.  Pure terror!  With a deep breath I warbled away, and have not stopped since.  With God's help my voice became more sure, and always I stepped up to the microphone, closed my eyes, and said a prayer that He would use my voice to move His people to truely hear His words.  I like to think that some people did truely hear, or were comforted by the music that they heard.  And I always felt (and still feel) that no matter how much I sing outside of church my talent is never as great as when I use it to minister for the Lord.

And now, with my friends in the band, I have been given this gift, this opportunity to sing my heart out and receive such such a reward in the doing.  I do not deserve this gift but oh, how I treasure it.  I only hope that I am worthy of His blessings, and I pray that He will give me many years to be able to use His gift to glorify Him and spread His word.