The York College Concert Choir just returned from our annual winter choir tour on Saturday. After spending an entire week on a charter bus with 45 of my classmates & our director, it's safe to say that I am happy to be back & in my own dorm room in good ole York, Nebraska. I also have a new respect for traveling performers, because that honestly takes a lot out of you to move from place to place.
The week was quite an experience. We stayed with many families all over the southern states. Our trip started off with a journey to Olathe, Kansas, & then unfortunately, we got snowed out of our Springfield, Missouri concert which lead us to bunk up in Joplin where we sang in the Cracker Barrel & our performance was videotaped & placed on YouTube which got a couple thousand hits, which is actually pretty cool & great PR for the school! On Monday, we headed to Conway, Arkansas. I got to have lunch with my Grammy & then that night she and my Pawpa showed up at our concert & were invited over to our host family's home to chat, & they became instant best friends with the couple we were staying with. We then went to Harding Academy in Searcy & then zipped on over to Littlerock to visit the Clinton Library. That same night we performed in Hot Spring Village, which so happens to be the biggest gated community in the United States, just a fun little tid-bit for you. On Wednesday, we headed to the Lonestar state & sang in Farmer's Branch just outside of Dallas, then the next day headed to Austin where we sang & performed with the Brentwood Christian School choir. We got to visit the downtown shopping district in Austin & also a graffiti yard which was all very interesting. To wrap up our tour, we stopped in Ardmore, Oklahoma where the choir seniors sang in their final tour concert. Many tears were shed that night just out of the bittersweet feeling of nostalgia. Dr. Roush even snapped his baton in honor of a great tour & a great choir.
Overall, it was a long & taxing week on all of us. We were tired from all the traveling & tired from endless amount of performances, not only at churches, but school, gas stations, & restaurants along our way. It was a great experience though. It stretched our patience at times & our emotional stability, but we made it out alive. The week gave us the opportunity to minister & to spread the gospel through beautiful music. I am so grateful to be selected to be a part of such an inspirational performing ensemble.
Our performances were nothing short of perfection & so full of passion. My spirituality was stretched & grew as we dove deeper into the meanings of the words placed to music as we studied them this past semester. My favorite song, along with most everyone else in the choir, is title Prayer. The words are from a prayer by Mother Teresa of Calcutta set to music by Rene Clausen. If you aren't familiar with this song or haven't heard it performed, please, do yourself a favor & look into it. It is such a beautiful combination of music & words with a deep challenging meaning.
"Dear Jesus, Help me spread thy fragrance everywhere I go. Penetrate & possess my whole being so utterly so that all my life my only be a radiance of Yours. Flood my soul with Thy spirit & love. Shine through me, & be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in m soul. Let them look up & see no longer me, but only Jesus."
If those words are not beautiful to you, ten I don't know what is. At our last concert, tears flowed down my cheeks because the music finally hit me, & I'm not one to cry during a performance. The meaning filled my heart & I had the realization that this is how I need to start living my life.
With the new year just now beginning, the whole"new year, new me" concept needs to stat applying to my life. I've decided to give my life a new focus, with this prayer as my guide. It's a challenge, but I'm up for.
During one of the devotionals while on tour, my cousin, Parker, referenced this song in his talk. His words stuck with me. He said: "The song says 'flood my soul' not 'fill my communion cup'." I have never heard a better said sentence. With my baptism when I was 13, I took on Christ so that He may reign & rule in my life. But I have been living like I don't need Him to be the biggest part of my life. I haven't fully opened my heart to Him like I said I would when I took Him on during baptism.
The week on the bus gave me plenty of reflection & prayer time which I am so grateful for. Trying to build a strong relationship with the Heavenly Father is difficult when you aren't willing to wait on His timing & let Him work through your life. I have realized I need t open my heart to let Him in & to take control of my life.
It was an exciting week ending with my older sister getting engaged, so I just want to say a quick congratulations to her & Dylan. I am exciting to see that God has worked through your lives & placed you two together. Also I'm just super excited because I love weddings!!
& I want to give a huge shout out to my packing partner, Kailey Firm for putting up with all the "gluten-free" junk this week. I'm glad I gt to spend the week with you & the opportunity to get to know you better.
I am so very tankful & blessed to be a member in the York Concert Choir. They have been my spiritual mentors & motivation this past semester & helped my to give this new year direction & focus. Thank you.
Peace & love.
B.
No comments:
Post a Comment