What? 2 in one week?? That's right, get excited! This one should be fairly short though... I just had a thought as I was driving home last night. I've been listening to the newest Selah cd a lot... they're a fantastic Christian group with absolutely beautiful harmonies behind their strong melodies. Anyways the title of my last post "Standing on the Promises of God" is an old hymn and Selah's version is just awesome. Well just the statement "standing on the promises of God" has been a great reminder to me lately as I find myself frustrated with different things in my day to day. But the other night I went to the finale concert at Neuqua Valley High School (my Alma Mater) with one of my youth kids to see some of the other youth kids who were performing. I love going back and hearing how amazing the choirs sound... the directors do a fabulous job. The entire music department at NVHS is recognized as a top school in the nation. Check out their website www.neuquamusic.org and see all of their accomplishments, including Grammy awards.
Each year at the finale concert the graduating seniors are recognized and asked to step forward. Their names are read, the senior achievement award is given to one outstanding senior, and then the rest of the choir and any alumni in the audience are asked to stand and sing the Alma Mater to the seniors. It's a special time for the seniors and their families. I went to the concert knowing that I would stand and sing the Alma Mater, but stressed because I couldn't remember all the words or what the melody even sounded like. So as I stood up I was a little panicked, but as soon as we started singing everything just flowed. The words came back, the melody was strong against the harmony I was singing. Of course I wasn't sitting near anyone else who would have stood up (the student I was with didn't know the song) so I was kind of on my own in my section. The sound resonating around the auditorium was beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed singing the alto part that was still so familiar (even though I thought it wasn't) to me while listening to the other parts blend together as smoothly as silk.
It was all very anticlimactic... something that I was actually nervous about turned out to be so easy. So as I drove home I began to think about how familiar the evening was. Sitting in the audience is of course different than performing, but it was so easy to know exactly what the students were thinking and feeling. I could pick out certain students and compare them with ones in my graduating class... almost 10 years ago, btw! I remembered so easily what it's like to prepare for the concert, to have to hurry and hang your robes up perfectly in order with the stole in place, on the correct hanger. Then you rush out to hang with your friends and family. Something that I haven't done in that place in almost 10 years came flooding back as though it happened yesterday. Now, if you had asked me what I remembered about the whole process prior to me attending the concert I would have struggled a bit... maybe given some vague thoughts about it, but I wouldn't have thought I could recall as much of the feeling and experience of the evening.
I feel like I do that same thing with God. No matter where I'm at in life or what is currently occupying my time, God is always so familiar and it sometimes catches me off guard. The things that I can recall, or that He recalls for me are so familiar. When I need to relate to someone on something that I haven't experienced in years, I can. To me, that's one of the most amazing parts of an ongoing personal relationship with Jesus. I spent countless hours in the music wing at Neuqua, but even still some of those memories fade because I'm not still there and involved. Because I choose to "stand on the promises of God", those things never change. God is constant so being familiar with Him gets easier the more time you put into a relationship with Him. I guess it's was just a good reminder.
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