Monday, April 23, 2007

My testimony

I am a Christian.

I was raised in the Catholic Church and I currently attend a Methodist Church, but those are just denominations. In my (obviously liberal) opinion, no one denomination is the right one and each one has its own unique set of flaws. But the one thing that they have in common is that they believe in God, and that works for me. The other thing they have in common is music, and that is generally what keeps me coming back. More on that in a bit.

I have never been one to stand on the rooftops and shout about my faith. I have always seen my faith as very private and personal. I'm more of a "faith through action" kind of girl, as opposed to "faith through testimony", but that's just me. I've never really been comfortable getting into discussions about religion and faith. I've never joined a bible study. When in school, I tended to clam up in classes on the subject. I'll answer a direct question, but not after a bit of uncomforatable silence while I take my time to form what I would deem to be an adequate response. But I have found a way to express my faith: through song.

No matter what church I have ever attended, the musical portions have always been my favorite, even if I didn't particularly care for the song at the time. For me, music can make or break a service. I really think a well sung song (either as a solo or by a choir) can outpreach even the best minister. On the flip side, nothing ruins a service for me more than a bad song.

And what has brought about all this religious contemplation for me today, you ask? I attended a funeral today for a member of my church choir. She has been ill for awhile but not dangerously so. She died unexpectedly this week. Her husband asked the choir to sing a couple of songs for the service, and they also had a "Witness in Song". They chose 6 songs whose lyrics embodied everything this woman was.

One of those songs was "I Love You, Lord" and it's lyrics pretty much sum up everything I've ever felt about singing and my faith. So hear I am, singing it from the rooftops, because for me, singing is the ultimate testimony.

I Love You, Lord, and I lift my voice
To worship You, O my soul rejoice!
Take joy, my King, in what You hear,
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in
Your ear.

6 reviews:

Gumby said...

that was very touching.

Beth said...

We are very much alike, Thea. Very much.

I also think my religion and my beliefs are very personal and very sacred.

Dave said...

I can remember when we first got together that you had reservations about coming to church with me, and now look how involved you are!! I agree that music (and the fellowship that comes with it) is important in any worship. I'm glad we share that together

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Beautifully expressed. I'm LDS, and we have books of scripture other than the bible. One of my favourites scriptures from one of these book is:

"For the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me." - Doctrine and Covenants

I recently sang my first solo at a church meeting. It was musically imperfect, but I put so much of my testimony into my singing, that many in the congregation had tears in their eyes. It was one of the most profoundly spiritual experiences of my life. =)

Christine said...

Beautiful Thea. I agree that music is one of the best ways to communicate about our faith and with God in particular. I so wish I could have been there.

Not Afraid to Use It said...

Wow. This post expresses a lot about me as well. Faith through music is so powerful.