Pastors, Pickups, and Angry Squirrels
From the way I heard it, there was a whole room full of kids in music class that were totally silent. I found this hard to believe but it was the story that my youngest son, Sam, told me on his way to school.
As it turns out, his favorite “special” class is gym class. I know, shocking! And his least favorite is music, and again, shocking! The day prior his music class had been taught a new song. A new tune. A song with actual words, parts, and meanings. And this song was meant to be sung!
But when the music started and the first verse was to begin there was a room of 10-year olds standing together with their mouths moving and absolutely no sound. The music played but not a peep from Sam or anyone else in that room.
In Sam’s words he thought he found a “workaround” having to sing. But this workaround is really just pointing out the obvious; if you wanna sing you have to use your voice! And no one in that room wanted to sing!
Sometimes we don’t sing because we are too afraid. Too nervous. Or too ashamed to let others hear our voice.
I had a good laugh at Sam’s class because it did sound familiar. It did sound like a very Josh Beck way of trying to survive music class.! I was not known for musically talent or any talent that was related to singing. In fact I would say that my wish was to always make a “hard pass” when given the option to sing. I simply did not sing as Recess and Gym class were my passions and anything musical was down with other options, like recovering from Chicken Pox or have tonsils removed.
But Newville Elementary chorus had other ideas. It was mandatory, yes mandatory (!) to try out for chorus. One by one my classmates and I took the position behind a curtain on the stage and belted out whatever we were forced to sing.
Luckily for me there was a substitute teacher the day of try-outs. And since chorus was an after-school activity whose grand performance coincided with little league baseball there was no chance that the substitute chorus-evaluator was going to hear my pipes produce audible song. Not when I was gonna miss baseball games. It seemed like an ideal situation for me to get out of chorus when the substitute teacher was evaluating.
So I produced a performance not unlike my son Sam would do 35 years later. I was weak, barely screeching a tune and muddled through a song and scampered off the stage confident that no one would want me in their chorus. I was pathetic!
But I was wrong. So wrong. A few days later my name was on the list and I was doomed to weeks of do-rey-me’s. As it turned out the song was to be sung no matter how bad my singing sounded! And as luck would have it, I never missed a little league game for chorus. It rained every time chorus overlapped a baseball game. Go figure!
Sometimes you need to sing your song to an audience that isn’t part of your plan.
A few years later my chorus career was over. Chorus was an elective in high school and I elected to never have to sing again. Being 16 years old also meant I was driving. Even though it only packed 4 cylinders it was way more fun to listen to the old “Iron Duke” engine sing in my Dad’s truck that it was to hear myself sing in chorus. So that’s what I did, even though that engine didn’t make quality sounds. It was like 4 angry squirrels playing with a hammer in a trash can under the hood of that machine.
But being a tinkerer of automotive things, I found out that if I flipped the air filter cap upside down…well that made some sweeter sounding tunes. It was still a red Chevrolet pickup, but with this modification it had a touch of race car to it! I took advantage of this modification every time I buckled up and started the truck.
All was well until my Dad used the truck for his business of the day, which was preaching at a funeral. It seemed as though I forgot to flip the air filter cap the correct way when I was done driving so instead of the relatively smooth and quiet sounds of a 1991 Chevrolet pick-up he heard 4 cylinders pulling in massive amounts of air and pumping out a few extra horsepower with authority! It wasn’t a pleasant surprise when you are in a funeral procession or when you pulled into the church parking lot with a population of grieving family members.
Later that day I had to come clean and explain why I couldn’t just let the truck sing its normal song. I didn’t have a good reason other than louder seemed better, which was really no reason at all when my pastor father needed to bury the dead, not wake them. Lesson learned. My Dad forgave me and helped me find my own vehicle that I could modify with my own reputation on the line. He then drove in peace and quiet!
Sing the song that’s unique to you; and louder doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better!
I’d like to encourage you to find your voice. It’s specific to you because God put it there. It’s not to be stifled. Silenced. Manipulated by man’s own ideas. It’s a sweet song that God puts in your heart so that YOU get to make a difference in the hearts and minds of others. Are you singing that song?
Can you relate to Sam’s music class? You know you have a song but hesitate to put it out into the room?
Can you relate to my chorus adventure, where you don’t want to go to a certain group, place, or audience and sing your song? It’s fun to know you have a song; the destination of that song is sometimes debatable however!
Can you relate to my Dad’s little red truck, that desperately tried to sound different than its intended purpose? Instead of resting in your uniqueness you try to go above and beyond and overreach your intended reach! There’s a time, place, and sound for every song.
I can say “Yes” to any or all of these. But walking it out with a daily dose of God’s direction and steering can help you sing the song for the day. Maybe it’s squeaking out a tiny tune for the first time among peers. Perhaps it’s being around a different group of people that need the gifts that are unique to you. And maybe it’s staying humble and trusting a process rather than being bigger, louder, and more aggressive.
Sing your song.
