Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Best Concert Ending

I had the opportunity this weekend to see my favorite performer, well, perform!  I don't think I've ever had quite the giddy feeling that I did this past Friday.  It was both interesting and a bit scary at the same time.  

... About a year and a half ago, we were attending the early service at our church which is family geared and includes contemporary / pop / non-hymnal music during the service.  Well we sang a song that just sat on my heart and didn't leave - and hasn't left yet.  I can honestly say that I probably only have about 6 (maybe less) favorite songs accumulated over my lifetime or at least since the age of 13 or so when I actually started to have favorite songs.  They run the gambit from the Moody Blues, to CAKE, to the Mighty Mighty Bostones, to the Ocean Blue, to Aaron Shust.  As you might have guessed at this point the performer that we saw and the song that I really liked that morning in church was by Aaron Shust - it was My Saviour My God.  Of course he sang that and sang a few new songs and a few songs that I didn't realize were his and am quite happy now that they are his and did some wonderful performing as well.  The weird thing was that as I watched him perform on stage I had a kind of surreal experience where I was surprised that I was surprised that he was only about 20 feet away and singing right there.  One of those moments that you try so hard to remember in your mind so that you can always recall it.  The concert was a tour with Selah and Shaun Groves both of which were also great performers, but let's be honest, I was there to see Aaron (we are on a first name basis).

After the performance, we saw some friends from church as we were leaving.  One of which was in line to get autographs.  My heart skipped a beat and I got in line too thinking maybe I could get Aaron to sign my shirt (an Aaron Shust shirt that I bought with my lunch money before the concert) - yes lunch money apparently I'm in high school again.  The first group out wasn't Aaron and I got their autographs on a ticket stub and found them to be very genuine sweet people.  Then I stood against a wall to wait for Aaron to come out for signing while my husband took our kids to the car.  As I waited, I had a feeling wash over me (God speaking to my heart).  I thought about at the end of each song how Aaron would point to heaven - to God - giving the glory to Him.  As I stood by the wall t-shirt clutched in my hand I had the realization that getting the autograph was really just idolizing something / someone other than God and so counter to what Aaron as a performer / man of God displayed.  I was humbled.  And so I quietly folded my shirt, zipped up my jacket and quickly left to meet kids and husband in our car.  To go home to the blessings that He's provided me and to get the autograph of God on my heart as He blesses  our lives.

4 comments:

  1. Mmmm... That's quite an "awakening" you had while waiting in line. Somehow I bet Aaron would have been pleased - but not nearly as much as God.

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  2. wow. my jaw is dropped. and the beginning of tears stinging my eyes. I'm so torn. This had to have been the Pittsburgh show, because I came to the table late because I was catching up with old friends first. But I fear that If I hadn't, God may not have been able to teach you the valuable lesson that he taught you, so that you could, in turn, teach it to me!

    Thank you for giving the glory to God and not me. But I would have loved to have met you. I look forward to the next time.

    Thank you.

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  3. and by the way...My Savior My God is in the new baptist hymnal! ...so I guess that early service is no longer "non-hymnal" :) ...unless you just mean you use the screen. then i just bragged. :(

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  4. Thanks Aaron! Wow. When you listen to God you get so much more than you could under your own "person" driven aspirations. Congrats on being a hymnal musician!

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