Granny Choirs and Humbling Moments

So I finally started a blog. I’ve been planning on doing this for months, but just never got around to it because Netflix and sleep and important things like that. Anyway, I’m not really sure how this whole thing works yet so bear with me and God bless your soul just for reading this far.

As I said, I’ve been planning on blogging for awhile, but since I’m lazy I’ve just been mentally blogging. Unfortunately (or actually probably fortunately for me), mind-reading is not yet a thing, and so these mental blogs (LOL see what I did there…it’s a pun…) have just been kept to myself. My point being, I’m super excited to finally be writing these things down. Here goes nothing J

I’m sure we all know someone who, despite all their efforts, simply cannot sing. Whether it’s the friend who delivers ear-bleed worthy renditions of pop songs in the shower, your next-door neighbor who thinks you can’t hear his Green Day impressions, or the “soprano” in your choir that often attracts canines mistaking her for a dog whistle, we all know someone. Now I’m not writing this to judge these people; after all, I’m no Mariah Carey and my dog doesn’t come to my real whistles half the time. However, being the musician I am, I do tend to get a little irritated when I’m forced to listen for extended periods of time to people who just can’t sing.  Or at least I did.

A few months ago I came into church on a Sunday morning and remembered it was Teen Challenge day at my church. To keep it short, Teen Challenge is basically a faith-based rehab program (no longer just for teens) mainly geared toward drug and alcohol addicts. The whole stage of our small church was filled with people of all shapes and sizes, each with a different story. Several of these people gave their testimonies, others talked about the program itself. However, most of the service was spent with the Teen Challenge choir leading us in worship.

If you have never seen the youtube video “worst choir ever?”, I highly encourage you to watch it. Because who doesn’t want to watch senior citizens in choir robes with no sense of rhythm sing “Don’t Cha” by Pussycat Dolls? Now while the 38,318 people who have given this video a thumbs up may agree that this really is the worst choir ever, the choir I heard that Sunday could probably give them a run for their money. Not gonna lie to you…it was bad, it was real bad. The poor director didn’t know how to conduct, “Our God” was sung in what sounded like a minor key with added dissonance, and the CD they were singing to cut out and died halfway through the program. But something amazing happened in the midst of what seemed to be chaos. I looked into the faces of the people singing in front of me. Each one of these people had gone through so much in their lives. But each one had made it through by placing themselves in God’s hands. Suddenly it hit me and I realized that that was why they were singing. They knew the sound they were making sounded terrible musically. But they were singing their hearts out anyway, because they weren’t singing for an audience of man; they were singing for an audience of One. Wrong notes, rhythms, and lyrics escaped from giant smiles, but suddenly they sounded more beautiful than the most skilled choir on earth.

That Sunday in church humbled me so much. I realized that it is not beautiful melodies that count, it’s a beautiful heart. It’s not a perfect singing voice that’s most important, it’s a perfect Savior who is worth singing to. So many times I think we place too much emphasis on talent and not enough on heart and passion. Sure, talent is great and all, and I’m not saying that Teen Challenge will be nominated for a Grammy anytime soon. But when your ultimate goal is to sing with the choir of angels for eternity, that Grammy becomes so much less important in comparison.

“My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul.”

-Psalm 108:1

p.s. I've added the link to the "world's worst choir" because I'm completely serious when I say anyone with a sense of humor needs to watch it ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItMJtA8vfpw