New Calling

The second week here, the bishop called me to be the ward chorister. He stressed the importance of smiling. I guess there was one chorister in the past who didn't smile, and it affected the quality of the singing. This Sunday was my big debut. When I got there, the songs had already been picked out (I had emailed some songs earlier to the program maker but hadn't heard back) and the old chorister was sitting in the front row to the side (the unwritten but well known of designated spot for the chorister). We talked for a bit and ended with the conversation with, "Okay, I'll start next week." When the first song started, neither of us went up. I guess she thought that I would start leading the music and she liked sitting in that spot. In my mind, who would want to sit right there if they didn't have to. Strike one. Well, I learned my lesson and went up to lead the sacrament hymn. Josh told me that I needed to be like Brother Annas but the whole time I was up there, I was trying to figure out where to look. There were people who were actually looking at me, which made me feel awkward. I was too caught up on not staring back that I messed up during the second verse. Strike two. During the last song, I focused my energy on smiling. I finished the song beautifully with no mistakes. When I hurried back to my seat, Mike gave me a funny look. He asked me if I didn't like the fourth verse. I didn't know what he was talking about. I guess I was so focused on smiling that we skipped the fourth verse. Strike three. Who knew that such a simple calling could be so dramatic?