When God Sings Along

Last night, I got to hear my spouse sing with the Broward Chorale.  He's been rehearsing for this Christmas concert for months.  He even sang the music during our long car trips.  As we traveled toward Thanksgiving, he said, "I'm worried that you'll get to the concert and be bored because you've heard this music so much."

"On the contrary, I'll be interested to hear how your part blends with everything else."  I said.

Oh, I was.  What a wonderful experience.

Now, I should confess that I'm happy to hear Christmas music in any venue.  I'd happily go to a Christmas concert in the middle of the summer.  So, last night would have been a delight regardless.  But it was extra special, knowing how much time and care went into this concert.

I am amazed at the talent that I saw.  It's not like the director went out to hand pick everyone.  It was done under the auspices of our local community college, so some students sang as part of a class.  But anyone from the community could show up, and to my knowledge, no one was turned away.  Through months of practice, they became a unified whole.

They sang complicated music, some of it atonal and dissonant, some of it festive and fun.  They ended with a rousing version of "Children Go Where I Send Thee."  As they sang, I felt glimmers of God singing along too.

I invited everyone to come to the concert, but I didn't expect that too many people would come.  It's the holidays, after all, and everyone has demands on their time.  Heck, even a concert in July would face that obstacle.  So much one could do, so little time. 

The familiar members of the audience were church members.  Some of them came because they have family members in the Chorale.  But some of them came because they're friends of the Chorale members who sing in the church choir. 

Let us not neglect to mention the cheap entertainment aspect of the evening.  Colleges and schools offer so many resources to the community, but I'm impressed with the inexpensive aspect of what they offer.  I can see a concert or a play for a nominal fee.  Famous people come through, and I can see them.  Even if I don't have time to take a class, I can benefit.

We were surrounded by college students, many of whom had clearly never gone to a concert.  At Intermission, when the lights came up, I heard one student say, "So, is that it?"  The other student told him it was Intermission, which baffled the student who asked the question.

"Like halftime in football."

But at the end of the night, even the students who had never been to a concert were leaving in a pumped-up mood, elevated by the good singing and the Gospel message.  And as they sang while they were heading out into the night, once again, I heard God singing.