To sing Wednesday

Allergies.  Ugh.  My husband and I were scheduled for music on a Wednesday night, and this itch in my throat wouldn’t quit.  Rehearsing at home led only to gagging and more gagging, causing us to lose all momentum of the songs.  How could a mere itch be so crippling to a voice?  Have you ever been so ready to pour into something, and then there’s a snag in the pour spout?  In my case, the itch kept snagging the voice.  So I asked the Lord to allow my throat a way to sing.  “Lord, may You give freedom for air to flow.  May You protect my voice.  May Your voice sing freely through mine.”  And so at 7:00 we began.  The first song . . . the second song . . . the third . . . and the fourth.  All the while there's a joy deepening inside me and utter amazement for how the Lord is preventing any inhibitions to my voice.  Yet afterward as I took a seat with the congregation, what happened?  I started coughing.  The itch returned and so did the gag, though just briefly, as if the Lord kindly reminded, “I'm here.  You asked Me to guard your voice during the songs, and I did.”  It was the timing, the precise moment after singing.  I hadn’t even fully sat in the chair before needing to exit the room, so the cough wouldn't interrupt everyone else.  That brief itch lent me to reflect on all the allergy troubles before prayer versus the peace the Lord offered after prayer.  And so I ask you, as a reader here today, “How do you need the Lord?  Do you ask Him for a voice to sing or for something different?”  He loves to hear the call of your heart.  I have prayed for you already.