It's Time For You to Sing Your Song

Have you ever been to a concert or symphony where the musical experience left you speechless and overflowing with emotions, totally overwhelming you?

I’ve had this experience a few times in my life. There have been times where tears welled up in my eyes, gently making their way along the contours of my face and cleansing me from the inside out.

At other moments, there has been an indescribable joy radiating from me which words could not explain. In short, it was pure elation.

What would produce such a response?

The soloist, choir, instrumentalist, symphony, or ensemble simply sang or played their song! They did what they intended to do.

They did what they were meant to do!

They had a gift to give. It was shared. It had to be heard. Consider the following scenario.

You have plans to hear Josh Groban and Celine Dion perform at Carnegie Hall in what is being billed as the Two Voices, One Heart Tour – a benefit concert for your favorite charity.

The word AWESOME is running through every fiber of your being at the thought of attending.

The concert is a few weeks away and every time you think of the date on your calendar Carly Simon’s song, Anticipation, plays in your head and comes to life!

You aren’t attending alone as this is a special night for you and your spouse (or significant other), an experience to be shared together.

You arrive at the venue to learn your seats have been upgraded to Front Row-Center.

You nearly pass out at the thought of the sudden change in fortune as these seats are worth some serious cash!

It finally hits you that you will be sitting a few feet away from the performers. A smile spans your face from “sea to shining sea.” You will be able to hear every breath they take.

You will see up close and personal every nuance of every move they make.

Your heart is pounding with expectation at what this experience will be like.

You are already thinking – what a great night!

The audience is seated. The lights are dimmed. The stage lighting zeroes in on one spot, center stage. Josh makes his way from stage left; Celine parallels from stage right, both now standing in the illumined circle.

You hear a voice over the PA system.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Celine Dion and Josh Groban!”

You are awestruck. The audience greets them with anticipatory applause.

The music begins to play. Josh and Celine face each other. They lift their mics toward their mouths, take a deep breath, and you are spellbound as to what you are about to hear.

The sound you hear is – NOTHING!

They came to sing, but the only sound you hear is dead silence. You are puzzled.

What is going on?

Why aren’t they singing?

When it is all said and done, you finally realize the song they came to sing is trapped inside of each of them – unexpressed. You are totally and unequivocally disappointed. You thought you were going to hear a masterpiece. Instead, you leave not hearing the song buried inside these two powerhouse performers. Their song remains unsung.

Why do we think the above scenario is odd when most of us leave the music of our lives buried inside of us, unshared?

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr, an American physician and poet, acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of his day said this:

“Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.”  

I was first introduced to the above quote several years ago in reading Dan Miller’s blog. What I read has stuck with me ever since.

Dan is the owner and president of 48 Days, a company which specializes in creative thinking for increased personal and business success.

He is also the author of 48 Days to the Work You Love, No More Dreaded Mondays, and co-author of Wisdom Meets Passion.

I look back at my own life and for a period of time doing so could be summarized in one word – REGRET.

I know I am not alone.

You have been there too with the music inside of you slowly, but surely fading! For me the story went like this.

I attended college uncertain of the exact path, but with the hope of a safe and promising career. We were married our senior year (1978) and upon graduation, I found a job which I subsequently quit months later before securing a replacement position. Dumb mistake, albeit of youth!

I began to kick myself in the proverbial pants. The lead domino with my choice began to tumble, causing a chain reaction in other life choices.

I finally found replacement work and we relocated to another part of the state (1980).

Instead of exploring and doing what I loved, I began to work for whatever income I could produce to keep the boat afloat We began to recover from my error in judgment, along came our children, and life was good (and still is!)

Again, joblessness made an encore visit to my stage (1988). At the time I was working for our church in a fiscal capacity. I loved doing so.

Organizational politics, new to my vocabulary, entered unannounced and I wound up on the outside looking in. I once again lost employment, this time not of my own choosing.

Truthfully, I was devastated as it caught me off guard. I forgave and attempted to move on from this episode in my life.

Little did I realize it, but a silent, insidious virus entered my system undetected only to be discovered nearly twenty one years later (2009).

I secured part-time work in a grocery store to keep the cash flowing and attempted to do my part to keep our heads above water.

No offense to grocery store workers who serve a noble purpose; at the time, it was simply humiliating. I buried whatever feelings and emotions were stirring.

The once promising song in me began the journey down Unsung Avenue.

Once again, God was faithful and new employment was found (late 1988).

Relocation once again was necessary which resulted in a move to our current location in the spring of 1989.

Jackie also secured her teaching position shortly after moving.

It seemed as if overnight our family went from babies and toddlers, to young children, then to teenagers, and finally into adulthood leaving the home to start lives of their own.

On this journey, much like yours, obligations had to be paid and life moved on. The ability to dream got lost along the way. As referenced above, much truth was contained in Holmes statement.

Much time was spent getting ready to live (and living) and time began to run out, or so I thought. There was no time dedicated to exploring what it meant to really live!

The question, “What was my purpose?”, circled the runway of my mind more times than I could count. All along I had inside me the promise of John 10:10. It too remained a dormant seed inside of me:

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (NLT)

For my fiftieth birthday (2007) my family blessed me with a trip to Colorado to attend a Wild at Heart Boot Camp retreat sponsored by Ransomed Heart Ministries.

The Boot Camp was spawned off the highly acclaimed men’s book, Wild at Heart written by John Eldredge. In my opinion, a must read for every man.