Messiah

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!
This was my first rehearsal for the season.  Christmas isn't really Christmas for me until I'm singing Handel's Messiah.  So, my Christmas season started tonight.  100 people singing the most beautiful words with the most beautiful music ever written is truly a gift from God.  Being able to be a part of that experience every year is a blessing.  It's not just a performance the Sunday before Christmas, it's a weekly event to share an experience with others.
I was sad I missed the first rehearsal.  It's always like a reunion.  People I don't really know are so happy to see me.  And, I'm so happy to see them.  Each November we get together to spend one day a week together and then a Saturday and Sunday to perform.  And, we have all become old friends.  Sharing this gift with each other and sharing it with those in attendance has bonded us all.  To us, we're not just singing, we're spreading the message of God, the story of Jesus and how He is our saviour. 
As we rehearse each chorus, we are to be thinking of the meaning of the words we're singing.  And, our director for 47 years has helped us by his interpretations of the music.  "He was wounded for our iniquities.  He was bruised".  It's not supposed to sound all pretty- reflect that pain, he told us.  And, somehow, through the years he has trained us to do just that.  Each chorus is sung with his interpretation to reflect a feeling, an emotion.  The final chorus is one word- amen.  And, I can't remember a time I performed it that I got through the entire chorus with out being choked up.  Imagining heaven, that's what I would like to hear when I get there.  Even though our director is not able to direct this year for health reasons, his love of the music and of God, his emotion and expressions have been instilled in us so that we will be able to carry on to continue the message he has worked so hard to share.
So, where was God today, I think He was sitting there listening, smiling, enjoying hearing people lift up their voices in praise to Him and sharing His message.
Isaiah 9:6
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Blessings,
Jennifer