Singing Praise for Singing

"let it go"

1 Samuel 6:8

So have you seen "Frozen"?  The movie, I mean, not the reviews of this past winter.

It's a fun movie.  My daughter had seen it with a friend, and knew she wanted to buy it when it came out, and then the following Friday night, we watched it as a family. 

In many ways, it's your typical Disney movie ~ a princess (x2), and a villain (who seems like the Prince Charming, but don't be fooled), and a hilarious sidekick (or two.  Or actually kinda three, if you count Christoph, or maybe even more if you count the trolls). 

And of course, there are songs.  Wonderfully fun, singable songs.  Singable to a degree that's unusual, even for a Disney movie.  I say that because I recently saw a youtube clip of two Navy guys lip-syncing a duet ("Love is an Open Door").

That seemed an awkward sentence, but I'm not sure what to do about it.  Saying "two guys" and "duet" seems redundant, but I guess you could have others chiming in on a song that was originally recorded as a duet...

And I don't know what to call guys in the Navy.  Are they sailors if they're not actually assigned to a ship?  What if they're still in school (which I don't know if these guys were or not)?  And if they are all sailors, then it seems redundant to say "Navy sailors" but if I don't, you might just think I mean some guys who took time out of the America's cup race to sing a song for youtube.

Thank you for joining me in my over-analysis.  Now back to our story.

I also saw a clip other day, of a group of Marines watching the movie, and singing along with the Oscar winning, "Let It Go".  Though they had trouble hitting the notes, they were indeed letting it go.

Which leads me to my point:  "Let It Go".  It's a beautiful song, and Idina Menzel does a wonderful job with it.  And it's not easy.  She has a strong range, and the song calls for all of it; low notes to high.  I said to my daughter today, "What a job they asked her to do, to hit all those notes!"  It's a tough job, something not a lot of people ~ even performers ~ can do.

And then my daughter pulled up another youtube video for me.  It's a collection of the women who sang the song for the movie, in versions all over the world.  French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Flemish, etc, etc.  Woman after woman, all doing just as beautiful a job as America's own Idina Menzel.  Hitting all those notes, with the same power and poise. 

It made me appreciative to God, for gifting to many people that way.  It's not like I ever thought Idina Menzel was the only person who could do it, but it somehow seemed so wonderful that so many women could do it just as well.

I just love how God gifts His children.  There's no one more gifted than anyone else, I don't think, though some people's talents may seem more obvious than others.  He blesses us through the skills and talents of people around us, and a beautiful voice is just as much His creation as is a butterfly, a snow-capped mountain, or a breathtaking sunset.

We don't always think of Him when we're marveling at someone's abilities.  But in all of the ways that make each of us unique and special, we have Him to thank.  If it makes you smile; if it brings you joy ~ it's from Him.  So if you're holding back on your thanks and praise, let it go!

~ "Is anyone among you cheerful?

     Let him sing praise" ~

James 5:13

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