The Band

I used to sing in a band.

Every Tuesday night,

Three other teachers and I gathered in my living room to talk and make music.

We mostly gathered for fellowship and community,

But we also made music well enough to be asked to sing at various churches and events in the area.

We had our own equipment.

We gave concerts and led worship.

We sang cover songs and we sang original songs.

We even signed autographs and recorded a CD.

 

After the band dissolved,

I stopped singing and playing for awhile.  

In fact, other than a few years as music minister at a local church,

I really haven’t sung or played consistently since those years with the band.

For the most part, my singing is now solely with the church choir,

And my performance days are in the past.

 

So this past Friday night, it felt good to be on stage again.

We had a talent show at school.

It was actually a very good show.

Around 24 kids showed a lot of courage in performing in front of more than a hundred people.

We had singers, dancers, tai kwon do-ers, hoola hoopers, magicians, and beat boxers.

The show’s coordinator also asked for staff volunteers to perform.

I agreed to sing.

At the last minute, I decided to do one of my more popular songs from the band days, “Fireflies.”

It allowed for audience participation.

And it was neat to see the audience making fireflies and to hear them singing during the intermission.

 

For one moment, I was taken back to my band days.

And for one moment, I smiled.

 

God of past, present, and future: Thank you. For guiding us then. For being with us now. For holding us in the future. For showing up as fireflies in the dark. Thank you. Amen.