Blowing the roof off

I like to sing.  I don't really know what I am doing but I think I can carry a tune without offending others or making them go flat.  I have had many great opportunities in my life to sing with incredibly talented people who have graciously and generously taught me much about being a musician.  I could list them here but they would be embarrassed and deny it.

My voice is naturally voluminous.  I grew up racing at swim meets and I think I must have elephant sized lungs from so much time spent underwater.  My unabashed volume used to embarrass my sister at church.  She would bug her eyes out and tell me that "EVERYONE CAN HEAR YOU!" in a hissing, reproachful whisper.  I guess I assumed that God was way up in the sky and I should used my outside voice so he could hear me.

When Josh and I moved to Eugene in 1997 the church invited us to join their praise team.  We sat around Randy and Beth Wray's antique kitchen table and practiced every Saturday night.  The Wrays, the Comptons and the Caseys.  Their kids ran around naked and crazy and Josh and I wondered why the parents had so little control.  (ha!  We no longer wonder.)  Most of us were only marginal musicians, we couldn't sight read and we sang from our hearts.  Tim Casey would pull bass notes from the bottom of his toes and Beth would quietly help us find the right notes.  They quickly became our family as we tapped out timing and worked through discordant notes .

We joined the Westside praise team in 2001 when we moved to Portland.  We had to try out which made me nervous.  I sang my Harding Omega Phi club hymn by heart.  I was sure they would decline my audition.

It has been an honor to sing with this group for a decade.  We practice every Sunday night.  We stumble through new songs, delight when songs come together with our unique acapella sound.  Cheer at each other's success and laugh when we can't clap and sing at the same time.  We love the music and support each other, regularly breaking out in remarkably tight harmony on random show tunes before dissolving in laughter.  It is a humbly, faithful group of flawed people who love God, each other and the congregation we serve.  Most of us are convinced we are not talented enough to be there week to week but are honored to be invited back because we have so much fun.

Make no mistake, the people I get to sing with are amazingly talented!  Many could make a living with their pipes if they wanted to.  God has gifted most of those folks with an amazing array of musical talents.  The fact that they share them on a weekly basis with me and with Westside is a gift.  I love it when new singers join us at practice because I want them to feel the fun we have.  

But the music is not the best thing about these people.  We talk about prayer requests after practice and I am often touched by the requests that surface.  Profound parenting struggles are mentioned, physical decline of parents and loved ones tearfully spoken, prayers for broken relationships requested, praise for new jobs are offered.  Updates from prior requests are reviewed, post prayer follow up conversations move to the hallway.  I am blown away by the realization of how much these people care about each other, trust each other and willingly carry each others burdens.

The singing feeds us but is secondary.  I am surrounded by a wonderful group of people who are being transformed by our Creator.  And they can blow the roof off when we are all in tune!