Miracles
We just returned home from Orlando-one of those trips that will go in the books as "Fave Mercy River Memory". The women were, for lack of a better term, amazing. So kind, so accepting, so open to the Spirit. We had left snowy Utah, only to arrive in sunny Florida. (It felt wonderful!) We didn't fly home until Sunday morning, so we had an unforgettable Saturday night with the other presenters. It was all great, and definitely added to this memory. But one thing really stands out. We witnessed a miracle.
Before I go into our miracle, I need to tell you something. None of us feel like we're the most amazing singers. No seriously. We have to work extremely hard to get our harmonies tight, to get our voices to blend. We take almost every note of every song and dissect it until it's perfect. In rehearsal we're nailing it, but put us up on stage in front of a 1600+ crowd? All that practice tends to fly out of our heads and we sit thinking "WHAT ARE WE DOING!" But we learned some things in Ogden, and in the month between Ogden and Florida, we worked our tail ends off. And by the time that Orlando week came around, we felt ready. Aaaanddd then Soni lost her voice. On Friday.
Can I tell you how frustrating that is? It's happened to all three of us. We practice practice practice for a big event, and then someone loses a voice. We were heartbroken. I believe my thoughts were, "Will we EVER have a great performance? One where I won't want to crawl-in-a-hole-and-die-from-sheer-embarrassment afterwards?" (Call me dramatic!) All we want is for people to feel God's love-to be strengthened and soothed, to find peace and healing, to feel joy. We want to do the missionary work we're supposed to do, and no matter how hard we work, something gets in the way. Nerves, sickness...anyway, it's frustrating.
Saturday morning Soni received a blessing from S. Michael Wilcox, one of the presenters. It was incredible. He promised Soni that the audience would hear her at her best. He promised they WOULD feel of God's love. We came out of that blessing trusting in those words. And we witnessed a miracle. We sounded just like we did in rehearsal! A miracle in itself, but to have it happen with Soni's voice gone? As the day wore on she would turn to Whit and I and say, "I don't know girls, I don't know if I can do the next set..." But she would stand up there and sing each time. We were so proud of her. But more important, we ALL felt the strength of our Heavenly Father that day.
I can honestly tell you that now, more than ever, I KNOW we can not do this without Him. We have to do our part-we will still practice until we're blue in the face-but we have to have Him with us or it won't work. Kind of like life...we can do all we can, but without our Savior to fill in those missing pieces, it won't work. It is only through Christ that we can become our very best. I'm so grateful for that in my life.
So thank you Orlando-for your weather, your hospitality, your great restaurants, your temple, Downtown Disney...but most of all, for being a part of our miracle.
Before I go into our miracle, I need to tell you something. None of us feel like we're the most amazing singers. No seriously. We have to work extremely hard to get our harmonies tight, to get our voices to blend. We take almost every note of every song and dissect it until it's perfect. In rehearsal we're nailing it, but put us up on stage in front of a 1600+ crowd? All that practice tends to fly out of our heads and we sit thinking "WHAT ARE WE DOING!" But we learned some things in Ogden, and in the month between Ogden and Florida, we worked our tail ends off. And by the time that Orlando week came around, we felt ready. Aaaanddd then Soni lost her voice. On Friday.
Can I tell you how frustrating that is? It's happened to all three of us. We practice practice practice for a big event, and then someone loses a voice. We were heartbroken. I believe my thoughts were, "Will we EVER have a great performance? One where I won't want to crawl-in-a-hole-and-die-from-sheer-embarrassment afterwards?" (Call me dramatic!) All we want is for people to feel God's love-to be strengthened and soothed, to find peace and healing, to feel joy. We want to do the missionary work we're supposed to do, and no matter how hard we work, something gets in the way. Nerves, sickness...anyway, it's frustrating.
Saturday morning Soni received a blessing from S. Michael Wilcox, one of the presenters. It was incredible. He promised Soni that the audience would hear her at her best. He promised they WOULD feel of God's love. We came out of that blessing trusting in those words. And we witnessed a miracle. We sounded just like we did in rehearsal! A miracle in itself, but to have it happen with Soni's voice gone? As the day wore on she would turn to Whit and I and say, "I don't know girls, I don't know if I can do the next set..." But she would stand up there and sing each time. We were so proud of her. But more important, we ALL felt the strength of our Heavenly Father that day.
I can honestly tell you that now, more than ever, I KNOW we can not do this without Him. We have to do our part-we will still practice until we're blue in the face-but we have to have Him with us or it won't work. Kind of like life...we can do all we can, but without our Savior to fill in those missing pieces, it won't work. It is only through Christ that we can become our very best. I'm so grateful for that in my life.
So thank you Orlando-for your weather, your hospitality, your great restaurants, your temple, Downtown Disney...but most of all, for being a part of our miracle.