Spring Break, Sunshine, and lots of Singing

Spending two weeks with forty college-aged women isn't something that has ever been on my list of things to do before I die. However, that is precisely how I am spending my first spring break as a college student. Along with many students from around the country, I have been able to hit a couple of beautiful Florida beaches on my break from classes and homework. But my spring break is very different than that of the typical college student. This is my first time serving as a part of a traveling Christian music ministry. I have used school breaks to go on missions trips and work on local service projects, but I have never thought that performing music could be a legitimate form of Christian service. I am glad to say that I have now experienced otherwise.

I have been in my school choirs from the seventh grade through senior year. Looking back on that experience, I remember emotions ranging from joy to regret and even deep sadness. I loved performing in concerts and the community of friends the most. I often auditioned for solos, and I even got to sing my first ever duet with my sister in senior year. However, I was also very competitive about choir. I competed in contests and auditioned for the chamber choir. Sometimes I did well, but other times I failed to meet the standard. Hindsight has taught me how foolish of me it was to cry so many tears over not making the cut in chamber choir. All those tears and all that resentment are indicative of what my heart really treasured at that time. I desired to be recognized for my talents. I wanted to be grouped with "the best". I sinfully wanted all the glory for myself. And when I didn't get the praise and affirmation I wanted, I was devastated. I'm not exactly sure what made me join the Women's Choir at Moody. Maybe I was trying to redeem my failure of making the high school chamber choir. Maybe I just wanted to have another activity. More than likely, however, God wanted to teach me some lessons about what it means to find satisfaction in giving Him the glory instead of treasuring it for myself.

My experiences in the MBI Women's Concert Choir have taught me what it really means to sing for the glory of God. Unlike my high school choirs, all of the music we perform declares a part of the gospel, if not the whole thing! This alone has been an amazing discovery of a new way to worship. I don't mean to say that musical worship must be perfect in its presentation, but I do believe that truly beautiful music can be very God-honoring. The essential lesson I have learned through being a member of WCC is that I have to give up any desire for personal glory if I want to truly give God the glory in my singing.

Being on tour is exhausting. Traveling by bus for hours every day, staying at different host homes every night, and singing with full voice for hours are taxing on my body and soul. Temptations don't stop on spring break either. The decisions of how to spend my time on long bus rides, the patience required when interacting with host families, and the desire to give a 50% performance in a concert all represent the kinds of temptations I have encountered on tour. Furthermore, it is very easy to be selfish when you have 39 other young women each defending her own highest comfort- myself included. If that sounds difficult, then I accurately described the difficulty of a two-week long choir tour. However, if you have ever been involved in any kind of ministry, you know that difficulty is always present. Mission trips are always exhausting, composing sermons is difficult, meeting physical and spiritual needs is taxing, and those are just a few areas of ministry. Fortunately, the joy that is the result of fruitful ministry is worth every moment of difficulty.

Performing in choir concerts has given me great joy as God has been teaching how to perform for Him. Our director has taught us the importance of being ladies who possess poise and grace. Hearing the stories of God's faithfulness in the lives of believers all around the country through host homes has been amazing. We have also learned how to minister to and be ministered by the church. However, the most significant blessing of this tour has been the realization that I can enjoy singing and being in a choir without the competitive, self-serving attitude I had in high school. I don't feel compelled to be the best, so long as I am giving my best for Jesus. I won't fight for any glory but the glory of my King. Choir has enabled me to learn yet another way to fulfill the command, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).

When the world has plunged me in its deepest pit...

There are times when life takes an unexpected turn, and we find ourselves in the depths of despair. The hardest part is that these times are unexpected. We don't see them coming. I could give examples, but I feel that would be a waste of space. I think that most people can identify at least one time in their life when they received bad news that immediately sent them into tears. In my short 19 years, I can already identify at least three times when this has happened to me personally. Sadly, I witnessed a close friend experience this kind of situation just last night. It might seem odd for me to write about something so grave and depressing. But last night I learned something incredibly beautiful from the way a sister handled grief.

'Hope' is a word that Christians and non-Christians alike are comfortable using. However, it would be incorrect to assume that the term is being used in the same way by both of these groups of people. The casual way many use the word 'hope' is evidenced in phrases like, "I hope my classes will be cancelled tomorrow," "I hope the weather is good for our vacation," and "I hope I win the lottery." Using the word 'hope' in this way reveals that what the person hopes for is either superficial, unlikely, or pretty much impossible. This is not the kind of hope that will get someone through times of grief. Imagine what little comfort it would be to say to someone who just lost their job, "I hope you can find another job!" Instead, wouldn't we say, "I am confident that you will find another job!" But last night I saw a truer, deeper hope. It is the Christian hope- a hope that only those who are truly in Christ can know.

The Christian hope is really faith. We have faith that this world is not all there is. We have faith that our King is coming back to bring justice. We have faith that we have a heavenly advocate, who is pleading our case before God on our behalf. Maybe all of that doesn't sound any more possible to you than winning the lottery does. But unlike the hope of the person who wishes to win the lottery, the Christian hope isn't merely wishful thinking. Christians are sure of what they hope for. They are certain that these things will come to pass. The Scriptures say it beautifully: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).

So in case you were wondering, Christians still grieve. They just grieve differently. They grieve without forgetting their hope in the King and His promises to them. Seeing my sister in Christ tearfully professing her trust in God's faithfulness even in the midst of her fear and sadness was probably the most moving thing I have experienced at college. Today in choir rehearsal, we learned a hymn that really reminded me of my dear sister's hope.

"There is a hope that lifts my weary head,

A consolation strong against despair,

That when the world has plunged me in its deepest pit,

I find the Savior there!"

Only those who belong to Christ can know this kind of hope. As a matter of fact, God's Word tells us that because our hope is so certain, we can boast about it! "But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast" (Hebrews 3:6). So I will boast in my hope, but I will also share the reason for my hope with others. It is hardly something that I could keep to myself.