People Are Just *Dying* To Hear Me Sing
Two weeks ago I had a chance to sing at a "Stake Relief Society Super Saturday." I had been asked to sing a duet with my sister Cassie, but as events turned out I ended up singing a solo about the importance of taking time to serve.
So here I am at the pulpit singing to a sea of gray heads feeling relatively confident when about halfway through my song a sister in the center of the chapel stands up and starts pushing her way through to the aisle. Trying not to get distracted, I watched as she scurried not back towards the door as I would have guessed, but forward to the front row where our stake presidency sat. She tapped the Presidency on the shoulder frantically gesturing and suddenly not only did the Presidency stand up, but the entire row where she had been sitting. Really trying not to get lost now, I looked to the row and almost gasped as I saw a sweet 80 year old sister from my ward slumped over on the bench looking for all the world like she had just had a heart attack.
At this point I have totally lost my place in the song and I frantically tried to decide what to do. Was it wrong to keep singing in the middle of a crisis? Would it be more awkward to stop singing? I stopped for a moment, trying to locate my spot in the song and since my accompanist could not see the drama unfolding below us and kept right on playing, I decided to try my best to finish. At this point the Brethren were lifting Sister Garland and trying to carry her out of the narrow aisle. I tried to not draw any attention to myself as I quietly finished the song and took my seat as they placed her in a wheelchair and pushed her out of the shocked and hushed chapel. It turns out she had just fainted and was in church the next morning, embarrassed by all the concerned comments on her behalf.
So, just a side note...can you believe this kind of stuff happens to me?! I mean, really, my mom teases me about how I always seem to have a "story to tell." But honestly, how could I have possibly ASKED for a woman to pass out in the middle of my song or for bug lady from a couple months ago to terrorize me with her phone call? Just for the record, I am not seeking these things out...they just seem to find me!
So here I am at the pulpit singing to a sea of gray heads feeling relatively confident when about halfway through my song a sister in the center of the chapel stands up and starts pushing her way through to the aisle. Trying not to get distracted, I watched as she scurried not back towards the door as I would have guessed, but forward to the front row where our stake presidency sat. She tapped the Presidency on the shoulder frantically gesturing and suddenly not only did the Presidency stand up, but the entire row where she had been sitting. Really trying not to get lost now, I looked to the row and almost gasped as I saw a sweet 80 year old sister from my ward slumped over on the bench looking for all the world like she had just had a heart attack.
At this point I have totally lost my place in the song and I frantically tried to decide what to do. Was it wrong to keep singing in the middle of a crisis? Would it be more awkward to stop singing? I stopped for a moment, trying to locate my spot in the song and since my accompanist could not see the drama unfolding below us and kept right on playing, I decided to try my best to finish. At this point the Brethren were lifting Sister Garland and trying to carry her out of the narrow aisle. I tried to not draw any attention to myself as I quietly finished the song and took my seat as they placed her in a wheelchair and pushed her out of the shocked and hushed chapel. It turns out she had just fainted and was in church the next morning, embarrassed by all the concerned comments on her behalf.
So, just a side note...can you believe this kind of stuff happens to me?! I mean, really, my mom teases me about how I always seem to have a "story to tell." But honestly, how could I have possibly ASKED for a woman to pass out in the middle of my song or for bug lady from a couple months ago to terrorize me with her phone call? Just for the record, I am not seeking these things out...they just seem to find me!
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