I may as well face it--I'm obsessed. Music makes me come alive and breathe deep and open my eyes up wide. Music remedies my anxiety like nothing else. Music manipulates my emotions and picks me up when I'm feeling sad.
And making music with all of my sisters...ah. Magical.
I am so blessed with all of these girls.
Let me give you a few reasons why.
They speak my love language (touch) so well. I've probably gotten more hugs and kisses and held more hands and gotten more back rubs and had more people play with my hair than I have in my entire life this year. SO WONDERFUL. ❤️️
They have cheered me on and supported me through everything, big or small. We cheer each other on as well. If Jen, our director, is working through something with one of the sections and they finally get it, all of the rest of us will clap and cheer. If one of us has a birthday, the entire choir will sing and the birthday girl will go around and get a high five and/or a hug from every single choir member. If one of us accomplishes something, everyone gets so excited and offers heart-felt congratulations. It is so encouraging and it makes for such a wonderful environment.
There are no cliques. I mean, some of us are better friends than others, but there is no exclusion. We're all friends, at the very least. We're able to hang out in different groups, laugh, talk, and get to know each other without any pressure. We all get along really well.
They accept me with my flaws. They know I'm not perfect and don't expect me to be. I'm the president of the choir, and with that comes a lot of added responsibility. Sometimes I direct or help girls with parts, and it puts me in a general leadership position. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE it. It's SO much fun. But I am human, and sometime that leadership goes to my head and I end up snapping at girls or getting impatient, or I screw up a part and confuse people. Even so, whatever the situation, they are so beautifully full of grace and they accept me as I am, and they are always willing and ready to offer forgiveness (often with a shake of a head and an, "Oh, Anna." ;) )
They are so talented. They have some of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. They're able to pick up music quickly and learn their parts well. They step up to challenges and have far surpassed the expectations I had coming into choir last year. They never cease to blow me away and give me goosebumps. I just...I am so lucky to know every single one of them.
We're friends outside of choir. We talk on Facebook and email a ton, and we've had parties and gone caroling and hung out lots of times. We're genuinely happy to spend time with each other. It's not an obligation.
We love each other. These girls fill my Thursdays (and the rest of my days, really) with laughter and harmonies and hugs and so much love. Rarely have I ever experienced so much pure love in one place. The love that we have for one another is real and fierce and so, so beautiful. I showed up late to a party one time and had to fight to stay standing from the girls attacking me with hugs and "I MISSED YOU"s and exclamations of my name. There's a verse in 2 Corinthians 13 that says, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres..." and these girls display every single one of those qualities listed. They are so good at loving me. :)
It makes me sad (and a little bit insane) when I have to be apart from them. Winter break was awful. There were tears, to say the least. And when we were all together again, it. Was. GLORIOUS. When I'm apart from them, music in general loses the meaning it has, as opposed to when I am making it with them.
This second family of mine has brought so much more joy and light and meaning to my life. I am so, so blessed. And through them, I catch glimpses of Heaven and I see and feel Christ's love, so evident. He loves this thing that we're apart of. He loves the music that we are creating, especially when we use it to honor Him. He loves that we love each other. This second family of mine, that He has given to me, is pleasing to Him. He looks at it, at all of us, and He says, "this is very good." I feel His pleasure, His unbridled joy, when I sing with them, spend time with them, laugh and cry with them. I am so thankful for this gift that the Lord has given me in Clara Bella, and all of the beautiful,
He is ever, truly good. Praise You, Father, for the good gifts that You so lavishly give to your children.
Let the music we make lift You high all the days You give us breath to sing. ❤️️
