Blast from the Past

So this isn't something many post high school friends know much about. I think it's probably because sometimes my view of my high school years tends to be too negative. Well here is something positive! If you didn't know, I grew up going to FBC Dallas, which is in downtown Dallas. This church has a ton of history to it, and partly because of that, has a few traditions. One of those traditions is the Chapel Choir and Orchestra, both completely composed of high school students. Now I'm not talking some 10 person choir with a few musicians. I mean like hundreds within the choir and maybe 50 in the orchestra. It's big! For the last 50 years the choir has led one of the church services every Sunday throughout the year and toured all over the world doing concerts and service projects. Neat! Both of my older sisters were in the choir before me, and I can remember loving when they sang in church, especially during their home concert right after their summer trip. I don't know why, but I looked up to them so much and couldn't wait to be a part of it myself.

So this past Sunday night was the 50th reunion. The main thing they planned for it was a big concert with all the old choir and orchestra directors (including Central's own Grady Chism :) ) leading some of the favorite pieces and songs. All the alums were invited to sing and play. I didn't have anyone to sing with, so I didn't actually sing except in my seat. But it was really neat. As I was sitting and listening to different stories of God working and some of my most favorite songs to sing ever, I started rethinking a few things. When I got to college, I started to learn how to think and question. One thing I began to question more, especially after my trips overseas was how the church functioned. I started realizing how messed up we all were and how often we missed the mark. Good things to realize I think. Unfortunately, so many times I get caught up in what I think people are doing wrong, how they're missing Christ as they go about all their activities/traditions/etc. It really tainted my view of my own past and this church,including choir that was a big influence in my life. I looked back on our choir tours thinking they couldn't have been effective, people couldn't have had their hearts in the right place, it was too old-fashioned and on and on and on. The cool thing I realized Sunday night is that despite people probably having wrong motivations or the wrong focus, God worked. He ministered to hearts all over the world through a bunch of kids and music. I love that. My old church had/still has weaknesses. Yes, it's good to recognize where we are missing the mark or straying from the gospel. But isn't it so refreshing to know that God still works in spite of us? Gosh, I can't tell you how freeing it is for me to acknowledge that.

Anyways, I'm thankful for that reminder which seems to be popping up left and right in my life right now, and I'm thankful to have been a part of the Chapel Choir. I think that's where God grew a big part of my love for music. I really wanted to put up one of my favorite songs on here, so yall could get a taste, but I don't think there's a way. It may not sound great on cd, but man, every single time I sing that song I cry. If you ever want to hear it, let me know. I've got the cd!

Well, reading back over this, I'm not sure it made sense. I tried to explain things. Honestly though, I wondered at one point during the concert, "what in the world would my college friends be thinking if they were here right now?" I think it would have been pretty funny. You could have even seen my junior high crush! Maybe the next reunion. :)