Sing Your Song

There’s a thing I enjoy doing more than writing; it’s singing. I’m a tenor. My wife, Karen, says I’m her favourite tenor.

Josh Groban, you’re a much better singer than me, but I do have a unique voice. There is no other voice in the world like mine. That’s not boasting; it’s just true. Why? It’s because it’s my singing voice. God shaped it unlike any other voice because that’s the way He wanted it.

Your singing and speaking voice is unlike any other individual on this earth. That’s the way He created you. How dull life would be if everyone’s voice was the same. There would be no variety to what we hear. That would be worse than having no coffee. Karen says if I ever write a story about that people will find and hurt me:) Okay. I’ll be kind. No stories about a worldwide coffee or even tea shortage. I don’t want my readers coming after me.

At a church I heard a woman singing a Christian song in the style of Whitney Houston. It was sung with passion. She was technically perfect. Every note was in tune, but it missed the mark. It could have been so much better, more powerful and impacting on the congregation, if she had sung it her way.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a Whitney Houston fan. She had a powerhouse of a voice. But if you listen to her music, her voice is hers alone. She could also sing softly, tenderly. She took me on a journey with her.

Every time I listen to her she reaches inside me. She takes me on a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from joy to sorrow.

It was her life song. No one else in the world had a voice like hers.

She was successful because she understood copycats are a dime a dozen. Those who sing their way with emotion have a better chance of becoming famous. Yet, when we sing our heart song it isn’t about fame or fortune. We are singing our life song God’s way.

I recall a hurtful time in my life when I was chastised for singing the way God called me to. I was doing my best to blend in with the others, but my voice stood out.

A fellow claiming to be a representative of the others in chapel said, “You need to soften your voice. It’s too loud. You should blend in with the rest of us.”

Six years ago Dr. Heyward Bruce Ewart, a priest and psychologist, heard me sing, He said, “Your voice is beautiful , Kevin, but it could be more powerful. Did someone in your past criticize you for the way you sing?”

The question reached deep into my soul. It caught me off guard.

I cried. I said, “Yes.” He advised me to sing the way God wanted me to. He acknowledged the lingering pain.

Our connection with one another began when I was looking for an online school to specialize in helping people through trauma. I went on to finish my Master and Doctoral degrees through St. James the Elder Theological Seminary, which a few years ago was renamed St. James the Elder University. At that time Dr. Ewart was the seminary’s President.

I was deeply moved during one church service when a fellow came up to me and said, “I missed you. Whenever you’re here, I don’t worry about singing out of tune.” I thanked him. I said, “I give the glory to God for the singing voice He gave me.” The man smiled.

Dr. Ewart died four years ago. The lesson he taught me that will live on is to be who God made me to be. Don’t try to counsel, preach, write, sing or talk like anyone else. Be me.

Be you. Be the beautiful creation of God you are.

The Bible says, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – and how well I know it.” (Psalm 139:13-14 NLT)

I came across these facts about how unique everything God created is from an online magazine called The Spectrum. The story was written by Dennis Lee. pastor of Living Waters Fellowship. These are some excerpts from his article:

“… Did you know that in one cubic foot of snow there are 18 million individual snowflakes and not one of them alike? And while we can’t tell the difference, it’s just snow to us, God notices and created each one of them.”

“…Did you know your brain can compute about 15,000 decisions every second? Did you know your nose can smell 10,000 different odors. Did you know that your sense of touch can detect something as small as 1/25,000 of an inch?

The God who created you did it with intricacy and creativity. Not one of us is like the other.

Imagine what it would be like if God created everyone to look exactly like you. How would you like seeing you with all the things you don’t like about yourself, in everyone you interact with every day?

Think about what it would be like if women looked just like men. That would be jarring.

Would you like to wake up tomorrow to discover next to you your spouse had been transformed into you? How would you deal with that?

Thank God we only see that in comedy science fiction movies like Multiplicity, starring Michael Keaton and Andie MacDowell. Each clone from a machine was not like the other. One was a macho male who did construction supervisory work of the original character. Another was more feminine. He enjoyed cooking. The third one was mentally challenged. That clone saw life through black and white, no greys. It makes for complications in his marriage and career. Thankfully, it’s fantasy, not reality.

It was a funny movie, but if this happened in real life, we wouldn’t be laughing. It would distort relationships to the point of being tragic.

God our Creator loves us too much to do that.

Unique. Intricate. Beautiful. That’s who you are.

Sing your life song God’s way. He loves hearing it.

Oh, and if you read a story about an international mental health crisis because there is no more coffee and tea, I didn’t write it.

Excuse me. I hear someone banging at our door.

A man’s voice shouts out, “Kevin, I finally found you! I want to speak with you about the blog story you wrote about they’re being no more coffee and tea left in the world.” Kevin comes to the door, but doesn’t open it. He says, “I didn’t write it. Someone else did using my name. I wouldn’t be that cruel. I do have to say, though, I never read a story quite like that one. It was original.”

The man calms down enough to say, “Okay, I believe you, but you’ve been warned.” The man leaves.

Kevin takes some deep breaths in and out. He puts on some relaxing choral music.

There are stories that should never be written, even if they are unique.

God will understand. Really, He will.