On listening for the grace notes

It was another first for me last Sunday.
My future daughter-in-law Megan,
sang in worship I was leading at our church.

The idea was voiced when we were talking about favourite Christmas songs.
Mine is 'Breath of Heaven',
Megan said she used to sing it.
I said she could sing it for me in a service.
A couple of texts went back and forth;
and come Sunday there she was,
Imagined as Mary
With her questions,
Her pleas
Her complete sense of God's hand on her life.

She started as I imagined Mary would have,
and then as the music continued she flew.

Her voice strong,
pure,
with her own stamp on the music.
With a 'modern twist' as some people commented.

Now I'm not a composer.
But I do write, and have occasionally been edited poorly
and the meaning of my words was lost.
I understand how frustrating it must be when people make changes to your baby.

However when Megan sang,
her little flourishes brought the music to life.

She sang Breath of Heaven as if it was her prayer
Her inflection on the word 'holy' brought shivers down my spine,
And as the music faded we were still there
Sitting in the presence of God.

I believe, though I'm not 100% sure on this,
that these little touches are known as 'Grace notes'.

Grace notes are defined as

A musical note added as an ornament.
A small addition or embellishment.

As I've thought about it over the last few days,
and listened
and shared the recording of Sunday,
a number of things have come to mind.

Firstly:
Maybe I could do with being a bit less precious about 'my stuff'.
Nothing is set in stone.
Other people can take my creations and fly with them.
Maybe even improve them....

Secondly:
Don't be afraid to go rogue.

I wish I'd learned this earlier.

Conformity is over-rated, and sometimes stifling.
You are who you are for a reason.
The world needs you, not a poorer version of you.
Be brave!

Thirdly:
Grace notes.

The concept.
The idea.
The practice.

The thought that God brings grace notes into our lives.
Amongst the known,
the familiar,
the mundane,
God breathes.
And everything changes.

God brings grace.
And who wouldn't want a bit more of that?

And Megan?
Thank you for the grace notes you bring into our lives.
We love you xx


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