Let the Song Begin!

A production is marred if there is not a solid entrance. But as that moment nears, our minds are filled with doubt. Will I be the only one to come in? Will I hit the right note? That is why we rehearse. Hopefully when the time comes, the music will be a part of us, and as we follow the lead of the organ and the director's cues, together we all hit the note with one voice. Well, it doesn't always happen, but that's the goal.

It takes preparation and it takes courage to step up and sing. But then it takes courage to begin anything new and worthwhile. Public performances make our pulses race and our mouths go dry. However, any new step is difficult. I remember when the nurse handed me my daughter to hold for the first time. I was terrified that I would not be able to do it. I remember the first time I stepped into a college classroom to begin teaching. I was sure I wouldn't have anything to say. I remember the first time I participated in a peace vigil during the 60's. It was really awkward to stand there and see my colleagues walk past with puzzlement on their faces. I guess the thing that took the most courage was when I proposed to my sweetheart. I still don't know how I got through that one, but I did.

History is replete with people who had the courage to step up to a task that must have seemed to them impossible. I think of Moses, who had trouble speaking. Yet he walked up to the great Pharaoh of Egypt and finally convinced Pharaoh to let his people go. I think of Jesus who had just spent hours alone in the Garden of Gethsemane seeking a way out of his dilemma. Yet, when the time came he stepped out boldly and acknowledged his identity to those who came to arrest him.

I think of Rosa Parks who had the courage to step on that bus and sit in the front seat. When asked to move to the back she would not be moved. As a result she inspired a movement that led to the freeing of her people. Probably our most recent example is the passengers of Flight 93 who knew that morning on September 11, 2001 that they were doomed, yet had the courage to prevent another act of destruction. Instead of wilting from fear, they knew the time had come to sing that first note, and the resulting sound will ring out as an example of courage to all who will listen.

These people changed the course of history. Perhaps the steps we take will not be remembered long beyond our own demise. Yet if we have the courage to sing boldly at the entrance to our personal anthems, we may just make a difference. The world is waiting for that first note. Put down the music and watch carefully for the downbeat. Let the song begin!