Voices Joined Together...

Tonight, Tennessee Basketball fans were in for a very special moment. Usually, we all look forward to hearing Jackie Pearl sing the National Anthem before each game but tonight we got to hear from what I think was a UT choral class. They sang in four or five parts tonight and literally held the place spellbound with their very creative take on the common song we are used to hearing. The place was dead quiet as they sang. You could hear people just stop talking, texting, mouths open, taking it all in. As they sang their way into the anthem, what they were doing became more difficult and beautiful and as the song came near its end a lone alto reached way up there and nailed the final phrasing and she was dead to rights on each of her notes. The chorus gave us a gentle reminder I think about who we are: we are all people of gifts and talent, maybe not the same ones, but to each of us God as granted us individual creation that is ours to discover. His perfect vibe, force of growth, and creative work can only continue towards its end if we zero in on His plan for our lives. The voices joined were very powerful indeed because they all found a common gift from God in their praise of the Creator. Even if some of them don't believe in God, they sure believe in each other as well as their respective voices and so they praise Him anyway! Awesome!!!! Oh yeah, UT beat the pants off of the Gamecocks 79-53...