Simple Gifts

We had a wonderful thunderstorm in Arkansas late this afternoon. Thunder, lightning, wind whipping the trees and rain....glorious rain. I had almost two inches in my rain gage after the storm.

As sometimes happens in rural areas, the electricity went off mid-storm. I sat inside with the front door open until the lightning settled down then I decided to sit on my screened in porch and enjoy the twenty degree drop in temperature. It was also a perfect time to work on my senior high all region choir audition music for this fall. Armed with Walkman, copies of music, a pencil, a bottle of water and the rehearsal CD's, I sat at the table on my porch and began working on Kpanlongo, a West African folk song. The lyrics are in Phanti, a West African language. (Luckily, we have a written pronunciation guide in the music plus spoken pronunciation help on the rehearsal CD.) I sang through every voice part at least twice before deciding to move on to the next audition piece.

The second song I decided to tackle was Simple Gifts, a beautiful arrangement of the traditional Shaker tune. I worked through the men's parts and the alto part before moving to the soprano. As I began to sing through the familiar melody of the first soprano part, a male Cardinal landed in the cedar tree at the east end of my porch and began to sing along with me. From somewhere near by, a Chickadee joined in and a Wren added his lyrical bird song to our efforts. Wow!! I felt like Cinderella. ( Remember my disnementia....) It was truly an exhilarating experience to have birds join me in song.

I thank God for the simple gifts He gives us. Rain for the dry, thirsty land. Birds with their free and joyful songs. Music that touches our souls. The ability to lift my voice in praise. "Life is full of simple gifts....'Tis a gift to live simply, 'Tis a gift to live free, to find the path on which you ought to be. It's really very simple once you start; just follow the spirit, the spirit in your heart."