Choir

I like singing. Alot.

In the car, along with the radio, to my teammates: there are so many moments when singing makes everything better. I sometimes wish my life was more like a musical.

BUT, I don’t actually know anything about singing. I don’t understand harmony, or keys, or reading music. Though what I lack in talent I make up for in enthusiasm, I’m not really the first person you’d pick to perform a song.

Perhaps you can imagine it then, me sitting quietly in my church pew, waffling between trying to understand what is being said and getting distracted by planning what to make for lunch. I notice the ladies’ choir being called outside, and suddenly, I hear my name. “I must have misheard, or misunderstood,” I think to myself. I look at Melissa, and she too has heard my name, and we’re both wondering what I’m supposed to do. And then I realize: They are calling me to join the choir.

I hurry outside with the ladies, looking questioningly at Jostina, who nods encouragingly. I find myself a spot hidden in the middle of the line, figuring I can at least hide unobtrusively in the between a couple of strong singers. We march and sway, single-file, until we’re at the front of the church. And that’s when I realize that being in the middle of the line puts me front and center for songs. Gulp.

And this is it: my Glee/Grease/pick-your-favorite-musical moment. When the wallflower finds her time to shine, and finally shows ‘em what she’s got. It could have been so great. Except, I didn’t actually know any of the songs. And there are no song books. And, I don’t really speak Moru.

So I did what I do: I swayed a little and clapped a little, and sang some “Alleluias” and “Aroboyas” and laughed a lot. And when it was done, I followed the ladies back outside, and they whooped and hollered and hugged me like I had just performed a major musical accomplishment. And maybe it was. Not in the Hollywood, “I hit all the right notes and aren’t you impressed,” sort of way. But in the quieter realization that there is beauty in joining in even when you don’t know all the notes to sing, and that you can be a part of the celebration even when you don’t quite know the songs or understand what’s expected of you.

I’m not saying I want to perform in the choir every week (or even ever again), but I am grateful for my brief musical moment, and for my church friends who make me feel like a rock star just for showing up.

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