Making A Joyful Noise

I love music. I just la-la-love it (I totally sang that part). I am one of those annoying people that sings all the time. I sing in the shower. I sing while I clean. I sing when I shop. I sing as I cook. I sing in the car (or I did before that doodiehead misguided soul broke out my window and stole my satellite radio system, may he get chiggers down his pants God bless his soul). I even catch myself singing in the halls at school. I just can't stop myself. I love to sing. If you don't believe me ask Drama Dad, as soon as he takes the cotton out of his ears he will definitely tell you that I do indeed sing ALL the time.

That wasn't always the case. For years and years I would not sing out loud at all. I mean none. Zero. Zippo (stop longing for those days Drama Dad cause they aren't coming back). There is one big, fat, mean and ugly reason that I wouldn't sing and that reason is called my elementary school principal. (I tell this story a lot so if you've heard it just skip to the next paragraph, I don't mind). You see once I was in the choir on angels at school. Oh I was sooo excited. I was going to be the bestest angel that ever had lived. I was going to have my curled (my mom was queen of the little pink sponge rollers back then). I was going to wear a beautiful white costume with sparkling silver wings. And I was going to sing (this is where my plan went awry). One day at rehearsal we were singing along and I guess I was stinking up the place with my bad self because the big, fat, mean and ugly principal suddenly stopped us mid song to say something like WHO IN THE WORLD IS SINGING LIKE THAT???? Well I just stood there and blinked at her because I had no idea what she was talking about, but apparently every other kid knew exactly what she was talking about because they all turned at pointed at me simultaneously.

Oh.

Big oh.

Big, BIG oh. That was the moment that I found out that I couldn't sing. I was stripped of my wings and banned from the choir of heavenly hosts. They made up another part for me, but that didn't matter to me because from that moment on I refused to sing. I wouldn't sing anywhere for any reason. I wouldn't sing when I was alone. I wouldn't sing at school when I was supposed to. I wouldn't sing in church. I just wouldn't sing period. Years went by and mom decided to make me join the choir at church in a brilliant scheme to try and trick me into singing again (I was totally on to you and your little plan mom). I proved to be the best lip syncing teen that choir has ever known. I never sang a note...not one single note.

Once again it was children that impacted my life and helped me to change for the better. I started out my teaching career in early childhood (kindergarten and then pre-k and then back to kindergarten). When you teach kindergarten you just have to sing. You have to. There is no way around it. But I soon found singing for children is nothing like singing for adults. Children are so amazing ya'll. I mean that. They are amazing. They give their love unconditionally and unashamedly. They don't judge. They don't condemn. They just love and it is a beautiful and healing kind of love. It wasn't long before I was singing without hesitation in front of my class and loving every minute of it.

Finally one day something profound occurred to me. God loves me with a child like love. By that I mean His love is unconditional and unending. He doesn't care what my voice sounds like either. In fact He thinks it's a beautiful sound when I sing praises to His name. So get used to it people. I'm gonna keep on singing and no amount of pointing, laughing or throwing of rotten tomatoes can stop me.

(and in case you didn't know...God loves YOU with that same kind of love. Exciting isn't it???)