Saturday, June 23, 2012

Sing anyway

Last Sunday I was scheduled to sing on worship team for both the morning and evening services.

I love singing; music (and especially worship music) is indistinguishable from who I am in many respects.  I love to sing; I live to sing.  It is a vehicle I can use to worship freely.  

But last Sunday I had a scratchy throat. I'd been fighting it for a couple of days, nothing serious, it was just there.  I wondered - briefly - whether I should go and sing on the worship team.  That was quickly shoved aside by my desire to blend in harmony with my team members as we lifted our voices to God.  Few things in this life give me any more pleasure than that.  

Out of the nine hours that we spent in church that day, we were singing (including practices and the services) for six hours.  Along about hour five, my throat was getting more and more raspy, more hoarse.  I wondered whether to hold back.  

"Sing anyway."  The direction came from deep within, not so much a voice as a nudge.  

I closed my eyes, dug deep, and sang. The pastor invited people to the altar.  They came, they prayed, they were prayed for.  God's presence was just gently...there. The discomfort was forgotten in the beauty of the moment.

Afterward, my throat was sore - but I considered the discomfort to be worth it.  

It has taken a few days for me to recover from that marathon session, and I'm still not able to talk for very long without coughing, but I still think it was worth it.  

There's a song the Carpenters sang in the 1970s called "Sing" - and the lyrics are running through my mind today.  They are so simple and so profound:

Sing, sing a song, 
Sing out loud, sing out strong.
Sing of good things, not bad; 
Sing of happy, not sad.
Sing.  Sing a song.
Make it simple 
    to last your whole life long.
Don't worry that it's not good enough 
    for anyone else to hear.
Just sing.  Sing a song.

Sing. Sing a song.  
Let the world sing along!
Sing of love there could be; 
Sing for you and for me.
Sing; sing a song, 
Make it simple 
    to last your whole life long.
Don't worry that it's not good enough 
   for anyone else to hear.
Just sing.  Sing a song.   
Just sing.  Sing a song. 

Whatever else is happening in my life, if I can just sing anyway, even if the song IS sad at first - I know He will touch it, redeem it, and remind me that He is always there.  Always.  

So I sing.  I sing anyway.  Join me.

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