You may recall that I was invited to participate in a multicultural choir that was scheduled to sing for general conference last April. You may also recall that the world tumbled into chaos and completely shut down three weeks before that specific conference. It was one of many events cancelled and was one of my own personal disappointments. But the choir was tentatively rescheduled to sing for conference in October, so I was hopeful. As we all know, the world situation had not improved by October and general conference was once again an all-virtual event with no live music. Once that passed, the hopes that the choir would be rescheduled seemed to vanish and I resigned myself to that fact. After how many things my children had lost though, my own disappointment over this seemed small indeed.
In mid-October, I received an unexpected email. Those who had been asked to sing with the multicultural choir were invited to participate in a virtual choir. It was for an internal project, one that would not be broadcast but would be viewed by upper church leadership. Our children were also invited to participate if they desired to do so. I, of course, was thrilled to be able to do something, to sing for something, even if it was all alone in my basement. Nathan and Malia were also excited about the project and jumped on the bandwagon. We learned the songs and then spent a morning doing all the recording. It was something different, a break in the normal COVID routine, and a most welcome one. We submitted our finished files and I figured that was the end of it.
Apparently, the church leaders who viewed the virtual choir recordings were happy with how they turned out because last month, I got another email asking for permission to use some of those recordings in an upcoming worldwide broadcast. I sent permission for both Nathan and I (it was the one song Malia didn’t learn and record) and then as requested, kept my silence.
This evening there was a worldwide devotional for young adults. The virtual choir recording was one of the musical numbers. Nathan was at work during the broadcast, but his social network started contacting him as soon as they recognized his happy, singing face. I am so glad that it was a positive thing for Nathan. It was neat for me to be a part of something like that, but I am far more pleased that Nathan was able to be a part of it. He has lost so much in the past year and I wish that I could give it all back to him. I can’t, of course, but I’m grateful I was able to be a part of giving him this one small thing. Although nothing can replace the feeling of singing with a real, flesh and blood choir, the current modified way of doing things still gave us an opportunity to participate in something real, to share our talents and contribute to what I hope was a spiritual experience for people the world over.
The Lord has blessed my family and I abundantly in terms of musical talent and while my opportunities to share that talent currently seem very small indeed, I’m grateful for the chance to come together with so many others to share our testimonies and love of the Lord through our talents. It was a reminder to me that even though we all feel isolated by this pandemic, we are actually all in this together. Even though we are still physically separated in so many ways, we can still reach out to one another and connect in meaningful ways, sharing our love and supporting those all around us. It reminds me of a song, one that seems fairly on point for our current world situation. It may seem cheesy, but sometimes I think that truth can be found in unexpected places.
Just One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
All it takes is One Voice,
Singing so they hear what's on your mind,
And when you look around you'll find
There's more than
One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
Joining with your One Voice,
Each and every note another octave,
Hands are joined and fears unlocked,
If only
One Voice
Would start it on its own,
We need just One Voice facing the unknown,
And that One Voice would never be alone
It takes that One Voice.
Would never be alone
It takes that One Voice.
In mid-October, I received an unexpected email. Those who had been asked to sing with the multicultural choir were invited to participate in a virtual choir. It was for an internal project, one that would not be broadcast but would be viewed by upper church leadership. Our children were also invited to participate if they desired to do so. I, of course, was thrilled to be able to do something, to sing for something, even if it was all alone in my basement. Nathan and Malia were also excited about the project and jumped on the bandwagon. We learned the songs and then spent a morning doing all the recording. It was something different, a break in the normal COVID routine, and a most welcome one. We submitted our finished files and I figured that was the end of it.
Apparently, the church leaders who viewed the virtual choir recordings were happy with how they turned out because last month, I got another email asking for permission to use some of those recordings in an upcoming worldwide broadcast. I sent permission for both Nathan and I (it was the one song Malia didn’t learn and record) and then as requested, kept my silence.
This evening there was a worldwide devotional for young adults. The virtual choir recording was one of the musical numbers. Nathan was at work during the broadcast, but his social network started contacting him as soon as they recognized his happy, singing face. I am so glad that it was a positive thing for Nathan. It was neat for me to be a part of something like that, but I am far more pleased that Nathan was able to be a part of it. He has lost so much in the past year and I wish that I could give it all back to him. I can’t, of course, but I’m grateful I was able to be a part of giving him this one small thing. Although nothing can replace the feeling of singing with a real, flesh and blood choir, the current modified way of doing things still gave us an opportunity to participate in something real, to share our talents and contribute to what I hope was a spiritual experience for people the world over.
The Lord has blessed my family and I abundantly in terms of musical talent and while my opportunities to share that talent currently seem very small indeed, I’m grateful for the chance to come together with so many others to share our testimonies and love of the Lord through our talents. It was a reminder to me that even though we all feel isolated by this pandemic, we are actually all in this together. Even though we are still physically separated in so many ways, we can still reach out to one another and connect in meaningful ways, sharing our love and supporting those all around us. It reminds me of a song, one that seems fairly on point for our current world situation. It may seem cheesy, but sometimes I think that truth can be found in unexpected places.
Just One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
All it takes is One Voice,
Singing so they hear what's on your mind,
And when you look around you'll find
There's more than
One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
Joining with your One Voice,
Each and every note another octave,
Hands are joined and fears unlocked,
If only
One Voice
Would start it on its own,
We need just One Voice facing the unknown,
And that One Voice would never be alone
It takes that One Voice.
Would never be alone
It takes that One Voice.
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