Due North

I’m having all these thoughts about sharing songs . . .

I should get a microphone, do vocal warm-ups, practice more, tighten up the guitar playing, lose the guitar, try harder, quit.

I’m not going to quit.

The church I was a part of for nearly twenty years told me that to sing anything other than an acapella psalm was a sin.

The church I was a part of before that told me that my voice was best used in service to the church and for the glory of God.

To sing anything else or for any other reason was considered “less than”.

There were years of my life that I spent hours each evening playing the piano while tears rolled down my cheeks because I wanted to sing the songs so badly, but the voiced expression was forbidden.

It took me years to get my voice back.
I’m not going to quit.

When I sing, my heart is happy.
It expands, enters the world, and is no longer confined to my chest.

Sometimes, I’ve wondered if that’s the real reason no one wanted me (or you) to sing: because a heart set free changes everything.

This song came while I was listening to Ocie Elliott. I felt the song take shape in my chest and begin to rise. It wanted to be sung.

I’ve learned that when a song asks to be born, you say yes.

So, I quieted Ocie Elliott’s voice, picked up my guitar, and let my heart do the rest.