I have to be there at 8:00 AM

Such a simple statement – just an everyday communication between a husband and a wife.

But as soon as the words left my lips, a smile took their place.

Because with that simple announcement to Jim, I put back a critical piece in the puzzle of our life.

Singing is an integral part of who I am, and for as long as I’ve been an adult, I joined in the chorus in any way I could.  I traveled in a quartet for 3 summers in college; I led the just-learning-to-keep-rhythm  musicians of our junior high youth group band; I joined ensemble after choir after chorus line, and loved every minute of it.

My bedrest with Seth’s pregnancy sidelined me from my participation with our praise team from July ‘07 until February ‘08.  (For my readers who don’t exactly know what that is, our praise team is made up of 4 or 5 singers who lead the congregation in praise and worship music during services).  Anyways, you better believe that as soon as the spring rotation was released, I was reclaiming my microphone.

I’d get up on those chilly winter mornings, tiptoeing around the house so as not to disturb my sleeping boys, getting dressed and making sure there was enough breast milk in the fridge to get Seth through multiple bottles.  I’d start my Mazda up, scrape the ice from my windows, wish for a hot cup of coffee, and head off on nearly-deserted roads.

I relished the quiet of those solo drives to church, using the stillness to prepare my heart for a morning of worship.  I did this at least once a month, from February until October, when our back-and-forth trips between Ohio and Tennessee became routine.

When we started attending our new church back in January, I knew that eventually, I’d want to get involved with the music ministry.  But the pregnancy, and then our travel schedule, and then Duncan’s birth/death held me back, until three weeks ago, when I went to the first choir rehearsal of the fall.  It was like a piece of me that had been missing for the last year had been replaced.

And on Sunday morning, I will stand in front of my church family and once again lead in worship on the praise team.

I’m so excited.  I’m so nervous.  I’m so fortunate that I was welcomed with such open arms.  I know that I’m blessed with a talent, and I’m only too happy to use it like this.

Today, I claim this verse:

Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
Isaiah 49:13