There were three times last summer I felt awkward in a social setting. The first and worst was getting kicked out of the senior center which I already told you about. Then there was the awkward “amen” at the summer concert. It’s a good thing that people are generally forgiving.
One of the highlights of this summer was my friend Kat’s summer concert. She and Elizabeth, her girlfriend from middle school, decided to set up a stage in Elizabeth’s backyard and sing for their friends and family. I got my invite as Kat’s friend and my bestie Mary, who is Kat’s sister-in-law, was there too. Xenia came with me and spent the evening in a tree house with Kat’s daughter Elaine. I had met a few of Mary and Kat’s friends and recognized them as well as Mary’s parents. Though there were many strangers I had the sense through chit-chat around the refreshment table that I was in the midst of a Christian crowd.
It had sprinkled on the way over, but the thunderstorms wouldn’t arrive until late into the night. The clouds gave relief from the heat wave that had kept the daily highs over one hundred for weeks on end. The low nineties were a welcome relief. Mary and I took our shoes off and made ourselves comfortable on the picnic blanket I brought. The stage held an empty chair in front of an electric piano, a harp, a ukulele, and a short music stand for Elizabeth. A taller music stand and a microphone were set to the right for Kat. I closed my eyes and listened to adults murmuring and children laughing. Cicadas chirped from the trees, their songs rising and falling in waves. All fell silent when Elizabeth took a microphone to welcome us.
I watched the concert and then turned around to look for Xenia who sat spellbound on the limb of the tree listening to the beautiful music. Kat’s husband stood near the back gazing at his wife with love-filled eyes. It’s encouraging to see long happily married couples.
Kat and Elizabeth were both excellent musicians. Their voices blended in the way only friends who have been singing together for years can achieve. The theme of the night was summertime. They sang songs that celebrated summer most of which were pleasantly familiar, some were new to me, and a couple were written for the evening concert. At the end, Kat said that we should remember that God is the true sun, the true source of light.
I had a throwback moment from my years as an evangelical Christian, and yelled out, “Amen!”
There was a moment of silence while heads turned, and people looked to see the source of the disruption.
A lady I had seen dancing ballet with Mary in their spring performance turned and said in a stage whisper, “It just felt right, didn’t it?”
She smiled.
I smiled back.
Everyone looked back to the stage once they realized that I was a stranger. They probably assumed that yelling out, “Amen” was normal in the circles I roam. It isn’t, but I always hope that people will find rational explanations for me when I do something unexpected.
The ladies began a hymn and ended the concert on a beautiful note.
Syra's Scribbles 