God in the Unexpected!
Blog – 9-5-19 Last weekend this happened! The picture above is of me being inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was something totally unexpected, but God was right there in the middle of it. As I headed out to Okoboji where the ceremony and concert would take place, I felt a little annoyed, to be honest. I have so much on my plate with Women of Faith right now because our “Be the Light” event is this weekend, and I didn’t feel like I had space mentally for anything else. It felt like a burden and one more thing I HAD to do. I felt honored to be receiving the award, but my heart just wasn’t in it. I quickly realized I needed to change my attitude, and my prayer for the weekend became that I could somehow be the light for Christ in the midst of this very secular event. I didn’t know exactly how, but I knew I wanted to be intentional about trying to seek out those opportunities. My first opportunity opened up at the battle of the bands event that was held for kids in high school. A 15-year-old girl with pink hair and a warm heart nervously walked on stage with her ukulele right after a very loud, very “rocking” band had played their two numbers. She seemed incredibly shy at first, and a little awkward, but her heart and her spirit quickly came through. She was adorable and quickly won the audience over, plus she sang beautifully. When she sat down, I felt a nudge to go and encourage her, tell her she had done a great job. It felt a little awkward, but I did it. I went up and introduced myself to her and her Mom and told her what a great job she had done. We talked a bit, and I could tell they were very appreciative. She ended up winning the individual category, and I was so happy for her! The next day at the induction ceremony, people receiving awards were all in one big waiting room, and they called us up to the stage one at a time. When I looked over at her, you could clearly see she was terrified. The ceremony was held in a beautiful theatre that was sold out, and she would have to walk on that big stage all by herself to accept her award and give her acceptance speech. I gently approached her, put my hand on her shoulder and said, “You’ve got this. You’re gonna rock it!” I helped her settle her breathing down and assured her I had total faith in her. And let me tell you, she indeed rocked it! Her speech was adorable, and it was so fun to see her win the battle over her nerves. My second opportunity to be the light came in my own acceptance speech. I knew that I wanted to share my faith in my speech, which I did, and then I thanked my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave me the gift of music. I had no idea how it would be accepted, but it felt good. It felt right. And my, how people responded! When the event ended and we were signing autographs, I had people right and left thanking me for sharing my faith. I’ve gotten Facebook messages thanking me as well. I received hugs at the concert from fellow believers. It was very, very cool. Then the icing on the cake came at the concert that night. I was part of an All-Star band, and I was able to share one of my Christian originals called Powerless. It was another sold-out room of about 1,400 people, and I wasn’t sure how they would accept this song about faith in the midst of all the classic rock and roll songs that had been shared up to this point. I introduced the song, gave a quick history about it, and then went for it. And the response was overwhelming! As I got off stage and went to the back of the room to listen to the next act, I had people stopping me right and left, thanking me for the song, the sentiment of the song, and also for my acceptance speech. It was an amazing night, an awesome weekend, and a very humbling experience. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be the light for Christ in such an unexpected place. And I have to say, it felt really good to be recognized for my lifelong journey with music. It’s been a crazy, wild ride, but I wouldn’t change it for the world! Hugs and love, Jill