First Baptist Church of Herndon

Let the Song Begin

Linda Soller | Apr 18, 2016

For twenty years they were a family of two. They loved God, each other, and music. They both sang and played multiple instruments. Their strengths were complementary, forming the perfect duet in life. When the minister challenged the congregation to volunteer outside of their comfort zone to see how God might use their gifts, they signed up for the first and third Saturday mornings of free day care, grades four through eight. It was only for one quarter, three months, and they thought it was a wonderful ministry to provide for hard working families in town. It was certainly out of their comfort zone. Before entering the church, they prayed God would help them serve these children. Standing in the doorway of their assigned room on the first Saturday they looked at the chaos inside and started to doubt their decision. There were only eight children, two of the boys running around and yelling at each other, and several older kids ignoring their arrival altogether. Art supplies lay scattered on the tables. They weren’t artists! The outreach leader welcomed them with a smile then quickly left to work in the nursery. After an hour of unsuccessfully trying to get to know the children they looked at each other wondering if they could survive three more hours, not to mention five more Saturdays.

The expression, herding cats came to mind when suddenly he heard a little girl humming from the corner as she happily played with the dolls she had brought with her. He thought, “Why not let the song begin?” Quietly he walked to the old upright piano and began to play a classical piece. The room quieted down, just a tiny bit. His wife came over and started humming along. Now eyes turned in their direction. It was working, the children were intrigued. First, the little girl brought her dolls and came over to request a song she knew. Fortunately, he knew it too. The sullen older boy, with the earbuds in, came over to say he could play one song, and so he did. Before they knew it, all eight children were gathered around singing or dancing. Everyone was smiling, laughing, and clapping for each other. The running boys were enthusiastic dancers. The rest of the morning flew by.

Two weeks later they brought other instruments with them. They had made an effort to learn some songs they felt sure the kids would know. They also brought a boom box and some CDs just in case. The little girl had a new song she was anxious to sing, and the sullen boy brought his old keyboard to play and left his earbuds in his pocket. Three months of service grew to one year, then five years. The little humming girl joined the church choir, the sullen boy was at college on a partial scholarship in music. The average attendance was up to thirty children. It all seemed to happen so fast. Funny how God works, and all they had done was let the song begin!

Have a great week!    :o)  Linda