She sang so sweetly. This young lady smiled as she uttered the melodious love song at a Christian wedding today. The audience gave her their rapt attention. Her voice flooded the auditorium with melody. What a joy to see and hear her serving the Lord, the bride and groom and others with her voice.
“I am glad you asked me to do this,” she offered as she spoke to the groom at the rehearsal the night before. “It reminds me how much I enjoy doing this.”
As I listened to her practice the afternoon before, memories unfolded before me. My mind reviewed the events of the day before Easter when this young lady, or Middle Sister, as I call her, was only three years old.
Middle Sister could carry a tune. As a musical mother, I noticed that about her early in her life.
Being the third-born of our children, she learned from her older siblings. Her big brother and sister took part in a children’s choir and had memorized a simple Easter song. Our house echoed the tune and words often. So in time, Middle Sister sang along. She knew the words and notes by heart!
“This would make a precious memory someday,” I thought. So off I went to get the tape recorder and the microphone ready. Now a three-year-old thinks that singing into a microphone is a treat. I successfully captured her childish voice singing on a tape recording.
This little exercise happened on Saturday before our Easter church service.
After the successful taping of the song she sang, I got a tremendous idea. “How about having Middle Sister sing this cute song for the Easter service tomorrow?” I thought. With that I set about getting her ready to drive to the church with me for a practice session. I reasoned that she may get nervous and “clam up” if she is unfamiliar with the setting and the microphone at the church. Off we went to practice.
A businessman in a nearby town regularly donated one Easter lily to the church each year. Often it was the only lily in the altar area or in the whole church. This plant had been positioned directly in front of the pulpit on the floor. It had three buds on it, one of which was nearly ready to burst open for the holy day celebration.
We got to church and found that we were the only ones in the building. It would be less threatening to my three-year-old. So far things were going well.
I placed my daughter in front of the church by the pulpit and set the microphone in front of her. I held it for her. She practiced the song a few times for me and delivered it flawlessly. “This is adorable,” I thought. “The church people will really enjoy this.”
I put the microphone back in its place on the pulpit.
While my back was turned, Middle Sister took a fancy to the Easter lily. I am not sure what she did, but I heard a thud and turned to see the plant tipped over on the floor.
Yikes! Anger boiled hot inside me. I could not believe she did this. How embarrassing! In my attempt to delight the congregation, I ruined their plant by my inattentiveness. The temptation to yell at my child did cross my mind.
But in that moment a still, small voice broke into my consciousness. “If you bawl her out now she will never want to sing in front of a group again.” I held my peace.
I look back on that event and marvel at the presence and the voice of God coming to me at a moment when my reserves were spent. I believe this snapshot into our past shows a pivotal day for my daughter’s love of music. The Lord oversaw and knew best for both me and my daughter. I am so glad He led me in my response to the situation.
To this day, I thoroughly enjoy hearing Middle Sister sing. Besides that, I dearly love singing with her.
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