I told you yesterday that My Life is Better Than it Looks, yes? And I also told you that I would prove it to you... And so I present Article of Evidence #1:
While Elise may be fairly non-verbal (she has the vocabulary and speech structure of a 2-3 year old)...she KNOWS her music.
She loves Switchfoot, Dinah Washington, the Cedarmont Kids, Cake, Brad Paisley, and The Hallelujah Chorus...She not only head-bops to the music, but can sing along with the music...the words are sometimes not clear, although she knows her favorites...but her enthusiasm and enjoyment are in no way affected by that.
I cannot read music...at all. Which should surprise you if you know that I have been in a choir, from the time I was 5 until I was about 22. And once my kids get older, I am sure I will go back... I don't read music. I predict it. I can tell where the notes will go based on how the music flows...and I can pick up words in one or two run throughs...and Elise appears to have a similar ability.
She LOVES to sing in church. She adores hymns and hymnals. I have bawled through church more times than I care to confess, because I can hear her throaty, husky voice belting out words precious to me... I am quite sure that is how God sneaks into her heart...she hears him...really listens...with all the same enthusiasm she attacks the rest of her life!
My other kids don't sing unless they know the song already. They listen, they read the words. They learn it with their heads first. Elise sings first. She learns the hymns with her heart first. She allows the music to flow through her and learns it organically...as her soul overflows with joy and praise...
I do believe that she and the Holy Spirit have communed more deeply than the rest of us...and she certainly "believes as a child"... I know it blesses me...and I am sure she has blessed others by her openness with God's joy!
Absolutely beautiful! I would love to hear Elise sing. . . Music is God's way of speaking to many of us.
ReplyDeleteAunt Peggy sometimes is lost within herself (alzheimers) and yet, she can sing songs so beautifully. Sometimes, singing is how they have a conversation with her. It is amazing. A different part of the brain, perhaps. . .
Now go get a video of Miss Elise and send it to me!