I’m getting ready to dip my toe into a new experience, and I’d like to encourage you to do that in your own life, too, if the opportunity rolls around.
Let’s be bold. Let’s take chances. Let’s explore new paths. Who knows what the outcome might be? Our new adventure could be one of the best decisions we ever make.
Actually, my situation is rather funny. As I was preparing to write this week’s column, seeking a topic, I glanced through a list I had compiled of “Things to Think About in Different Months.” (OK – not a great title for my computer file, but I never thought I’d be sharing it with you.)
First on the list was “January – Joy / Journeying.” Then came “February – Friends / Fueling (Yourself).” And now we’re in May, which is “Magical Moments / Momentum / Music.”
I find this amusing because that’s exactly what’s happening in my life this month, totally in sync with the list that I created almost four months ago.
Many of you know that I was an extremely dedicated member of an international singing organization for 34 years before feeling compelled to withdraw from its ranks and subsequently help found Ruston’s new women’s a cappella group, Southern A’Chord. I’m so happy that my singing sisters and I were able to create this group. I love it.
(Ladies, we rehearse Thursdays at 6 p.m. in the fellowship hall of the Presbyterian Church of Ruston. We’re growing slowly but surely and would love to have you join us. We’re always in the market for women who love to sing.)
Even with this great group, though, there was still a hole that leaving the international organization had carved into my life, so this past year I joined another new a cappella group that draws people from all over the country. It’s small but growing as well – just like Southern A’Chord – and a good friend and I are going to its fourth annual retreat the last weekend of this month. It will be our first real-life interaction with the group, and we’re excited we’ll be able to sing with 100-plus of our newest friends.
But, wait … there’s more. This isn’t the only thing I’m dipping my little toe into. My friend and I decided to join TRU Harmony’s Evaluator in Training program, and after completing our initial instruction via Zoom this past week, we are set to be trial scorers at the retreat’s quartet contest. (I still can’t believe it as I’m typing this.)
Of course, I don’t know if I truly have what it takes to succeed in this endeavor – and that’s not false modesty, just the truth. My friend, though? She will thrive. Her ear is amazing, her musical knowledge is vast, and she’s a non-stop go-getter. Me? I’m just along for the ride. I even signed up just to audit the class but somehow ended up saying “yes” to TRU Harmony’s education coordinator when all was said and done.
So if all I accomplish as a trial judge is getting to sit in a special spot right behind the real judges (hopefully eating some M&M’s while jotting down my thoughts and rankings) and that never happens again, I’ll be fine. The main thing is that I took the first step – to audit the class sessions – and that later, after prayer, I listened to what I felt God was leading me to do.
Here’s my encouragement for you: If there’s something you’ve been dreaming about – some experience you’ve wondered about trying – don’t be afraid to take that first step. Even if it feels as if you’re just dipping your toe into unfamiliar waters, you might be surprised by the joy and growth that await you.
God’s word reminds us: “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this” – Psalm 37:5.
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Sallie Rose Hollis lives in Ruston and retired from Louisiana Tech as an associate professor of journalism and the assistant director of the News Bureau. She can be contacted at sallierose@mail.com.
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