Doing What I Do Best

It is not sitting on the couch, although I am very good at that.  No, what I do best is be an appreciative audience for people who have the gift of music.  That is my particular talent.  I believe I have mentioned it before.

My father was also gifted in this way.  He loved nothing more than sitting in his recliner at the end of the day listening to my mother play the organ.  His whole body relaxed and caught up in the beauty of her music.  My sister can bring that kind of response as well.

After a wonderful day of gospel messages at church, we traveled to our stake center in the evening for the Spring Concert.  (It is indeed Spring, although the rain, hail, wind and cold made me think otherwise.)  It lasted for over an hour and a half.  It was a lineup of musical numbers from individuals and ward choirs from all over the stake.

In between the musical numbers, a brother from the stake gave short inspiring messages about the particular songs or about life in general.  During the musical presentation, beautiful images were flashed on a large screen at the front of the chapel.  The combination brought the tears more than once.

We have a young elder who is gifted at arranging and playing musical numbers.  He arranged "If You Could Hie to Kolob," - which was hauntingly beautiful.  I felt like my dad....I went limp just listening.  The images on the screen were actually slow-motion videos.  They were short scenes of a family.  They were masterfully done to give a sense of nostalgia.

There were several children - siblings - living on a farm in years gone by.  In one scene, a father stands with his arms out and his son races into the embrace and is picked up and swung around.  In another, his three children all run, clamoring to him and he somehow embraces them all....like a mother hen.  In yet another, two little boys are racing through a wheat field toward their home.  Each one just made me happy.

Our fairy tale prince - the one who can do anything was responsible for all the technical wizardry, as well as the images that played across the screen with perfect timing.

As I sat there, I looked around the packed chapel and at the people performing and my heart swelled with love for them.  The first song was sung by Kasper's father....he has a marvelous deep voice and sang a beautiful song that is dear to the hearts of Danes.  The last song was song by Thomas Kofod with 4 of the young sister missionaries.  They sang "Come Thou Fount."  If you haven't heard him sing, you are really missing out.

Five of our YSA women sang a lovely medley of two hymns without accompaniment.
Sissel, one of our very talented YSAs arranges the hymns and organizes the practices and then coaches everyone through it.  I am not sure what she does, but they always sound (and look) like a choir of angels.

One very sweet thing was the presence of the young missionaries.  The program would have been sadly lacking without them.  In two ward choirs, the young voices were the mainstay of the groups. One young elder and one young sister were the pianists for several numbers.  One sister was the violinist accompanist.  They all looked so beautiful and happy as they participated. (I'll deny it if you tell the young elders I called them beautiful!  ...but I mean beautiful as in clean and neat and brightly shining).

The whole thing was done to perfection.  I will go to bed humming "Come Thou Fount."

No....I'll go to bed thinking and reliving that beautiful performance.....listening in my mind and heart....doing what I do best.