My song was silent....

When I was 4 or 5 years old I remember climbing the oak tree near the cottage my parents have up north.  I sat up in the old oak tree singing the songs I learned in Sunday School for all I was worth.  The neighbor lady came by later that day and told my Mom that one day I would sing for Jesus.

Then one Sunday I was singing in the backseat of the car while my family was on the way home from Church, I must have been around 10 years old.  My brother turned and looked at me, said "Ingrid, God made canaries and God made crows, you are not sounding like a canary." 

I have always taken those two comments and accepted the fact that I am an ordinary singer.  I would never make it past the try outs on American Idol unless a) my voice had a very good day and fooled the judges or b) I was so comical they wanted to keep me around for ratings.

Music has always been a part of my life.  I like to play it loud.  I like to sing along with it.  I like to play music and sing when I work around the house.  I like to play music quietly and reflect.  I would wake my children up in the morning by singing to them!

Imagine my surprise when one day last fall, I was getting ready to go to work and realized that I had no desire to sing.  Not one.  I couldn't remember the last time I sung or even hummed a song.  I couldn't even think of the words to a song that I would want to sing.  I thought, I'll just play music on my way into work and then I'll start singing.  I turned the music on in my car and it gave me a headache.  I couldn't figure it out.  Why had I lost my desire to sing? 

I started bringing my ear buds to work and listening to music during the workday in the hopes of so ingraining music into my being that I couldn't help but sing.  It didn't work, and I couldn't figure out what had happened.

Life moved on, we sold our house said so long - see you soon to family and good friends, bought our home in Missouri and moved far, far away.

Imagine my surprise again when one day towards the end of summer, I was outside doing yard work and I began to hum.  I caught myself, I could barely contain the joy that settled inside of me, and I began to sing.  I sang while I used the weed eater.  I sang while I sprayed weeds growing in the driveway.  I hummed while doing the dishes.  My song was back!

I don't know why I lost my desire to sing, I tried figuring it out, but nothing really made sense to me, I only know that I am glad it has returned.

I said,"Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart." Psalm 77:6