Froggy

One day last week I woke up with a sore throat and stuffy nose. I knew that my allergies were bad but I also knew that this was not just allergies. So I did what I've done for the last few times a cold has been attempting to overtake my sinuses and headed to the local juice shop for a "coldbuster" smoothie. My stuffy nose symptoms disappeared (which is really the part that bugs me the most) but my sore throat persisted. Saturday morning I realized my voice was going to leave for awhile.

I struggled through worship on Sunday. Many people wanted to chat, which is fine but it took a toll on my voice. By the time I made it home in the afternoon, my voice sounded very froggy. And that's how it has been for the last few days. Froggy.

It's only when it's harder to talk that I notice how often I talk. I'm a pretty quiet person by nature, but I'm in a pretty vocal job. It's harder to talk over students in youth group. And leading in worship songs, forget it! I can start the song but everyone else needs to do the rest of the work. I lost my breath mid sentence in Bible Study today because I was working so hard to project my voice that I ran out of air.

Feeling froggy has been good, though, as I've sat back and listened to things around me. Monday night's Worship Team rehearsal there were a couple of times when all I could do was listen to the beautiful harmony coming from my teammates. There was a beauty in the simplicity of just a couple of voices as opposed to the 6 or so that are normally singing. Even if my voice is back in full form on Sunday, I think I'm going to have to suddenly lose my voice on that song.

Today in Bible Study I sat and listened to the students I was with. I realized that they have formed a bond that goes beyond just youth group, it's a deeper friendship based on shared experiences with God. It was a beautiful sound. And last night, at Middle School Group, I listened to the silence as students took in the message that God had prepared for them. The silence spoke volumes.

So, while I'm a little froggy, I'm paying more attention to God's movement, God's speaking, God's whispers and realizing that I need to be froggy a little bit more often.