Singing

When I went away on a women's retreat in April, I came to a decision:
I realized that God wanted me to join the choir and start singing at church again.

This was something I grew up doing. I love to sing. As a middle-schooler, I was the youngest person on my church's worship team (by far). In college, I made some great friends at chorus class. However, after we got married, and when I had babies and toddlers, it was impossible to go to late-night practices, which were usually at the kids bedtimes. It was also really difficult to find a reliable, affordable babysitter, especially when only for only an hour or two on a weeknight.

The other obstacle was that my MOPS group meets at the same time as choir practices. I knew I couldn't do both. And I wanted to be obedient. So, after some prayer and introspection, in May, I quit MOPS.

Now, my kids are finally at an age where they are fairly independent and self-sufficient, so if I bring them along and make them sit at church with me for an hour, they can handle it.

So I thought...

We'd already been at church for 12 hours yesterday, for an unrelated event. So they were tired. Really tired. Not only that, but we'd gotten up extra-early that morning, and spent the previous day traveling. This combination would make any four-year-old a little out of sorts. So my little guy was really acting up.

However, I got to sing with the worship team. On the stage. With my own microphone! At the beginning of practice, we did an a-capella version of "Amazing Grace", while they checked our mics and fine-tuned the acoustics with the church's new sound system. It sounded great!

The last time I tried to join a worship team, I did an audition with the lead singer, and he told me I couldn't sing with them. He said I wasn't good enough, my voice wasn't strong enough, and I wasn't what he was looking for. I was pretty crushed. This group enthusiastically welcomed me with no reservations. What a huge difference. I also like how in the group, they take turns leading, and they genuinely work together as a team.

When I got home, I was on a spiritual/emotional high. I was doing what God wanted me to do, and I was loving it! It took me awhile to fall asleep last night. I was just so excited, and confident that this is what I should be doing.

This morning I got a message about a possible foster placement. If I have 5 kids with me on Sunday morning, I have NO IDEA how I am going to manage singing on stage with 5 little people running up and down the aisles. But you know what? I'm going to let God take care of it. If He wants me to sing, He will help me find a way to make it happen.