I'm thinking of something my pastor once said.  He named several well respected and illustrious quarterbacks and asked, "Wouldn't it be incredible to have a team made up of them." You could hear the agreement among the crowd. That would be an amazing team. Then the pastor pointed out that it might not be such a wonderful team.  If all the team members were fantastic quarterbacks, how great would they be at playing in the other positions that were required to execute an actual game? Running back. Tight end. Punter. Place kicker. You get the picture.  He said that while they were excellent at being quarterbacks, they might not be so great in those other positions.  That they were best when they are doing what they were designed to do. Designed to do. I could relate to that.

I am a singer. I'm best as a soloist. Solo. It's what I was designed to do.  Why solo? Well, I have a strong tendency to wander away from the printed score and go with my heart.  I have been criticized by pianists whpo believed that if my line contained a quarter note, I was committing a serious offense by singing an eighth note in its place. And to be fair, each time I sing a song you can bet it will be different than it was the time before.  I don't do this out of ignorance.  I can read music - since the 4th grade.

I just really believe that music is best when it's an expression of the heart. It needs to be one person's heart. If the song is a solo then the soloist gets to lead. That was true when I was singing solos with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.  The maestro looked to me for the downbeat, tempo, mood. It wouldn't have worked so well if he had tried to make me do what he was feeling. It had to my feelings that were expressed because I was the one singing.

If no one was singing then the maestro gets to lead.

In the case of choral singing, it is the choral director that gets to lead the group. Otherwise it just sounds mechanical and without meaning.  Anyone singing in a group needs to do exactly what the director wants. I get that.  I believe that. And that is precisely why choral singing is not my strong suit.  I understand w2hat is required and I do it, but it does not give me wings.  I am just stating a fact.  Let me say here that there are many people who just love singing in a group.  It speaks to their soul and fills their hearts.  I respect that completely, but every singer is not the same just as every football player is not the same.

For this reason, I am grateful, so grateful for every opportunity to share my heart with those who invite me to sing for them.

Back to football.....If Peyton were required to punt, he would probably be willing to help out for the sake of the team, but if he was always filling in for missing team members and never got to be the quarterback, I wonder what would be the result.  And would that be the best use of his abilities? Just thinking out loud....