Okay, so it's been like 8 years since I have written on this thing. . . So why am I writing on it now? Joanne Jeffs. That's why. It's her birthday and she asked for the most ridiculous thing.
When I asked Jo what she wanted for her birthday . . . she said that she wanted me to “write something” for her. Write something.
“So Uh . . . What do you want me to write about?” I asked.
She said, “Write about something we’ve done together.”
“Okay . . .” Seriously? What a Jo thing to ask for.
You might think that would be an easy thing to do, right? I mean, We have done so many awesome things together. But . . .that’s exactly the problem. We have done SO many awesome things together! And we all know that I can’t make a decision to save my life! So which adventure should I choose? The Grand Canyon? That was pretty dope. Havesupai? . . . A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Half Dome?. . . Epic. Bryce Canyon? . . . That was a total Blast . . . Dang you Jo!! . . .Couldn’t you just ask for socks or something, like a normal person? No.You couldn’t. Because that would be too easy. And then BAM! It came to me. I’m NOT going to write about one of our adventures together. No. I am going to write about why Joanne Jeff’s would ask for such a ridiculous thing for her birthday. Is it because she knows deep in her heart that I am going to be a famous writer someday? Or maybe she knows the value in owning a composition by the one and only Mary Mack? . . . Hardly. I mean, I’m a pretty dang good writer. It's true . . . But that is NOT the reason why she would ask for such a ridiculous thing. The truth is that Jo LOVES to ask people to do hard things. She glories in it. She has a way to get people out of their comfort zones. And it’s not always comfortable. In fact . . . it can be pretty dang annoying sometimes! But I absolutely love her for it. And I know I’m not the only person who has been persuaded to do something hard and uncomfortable at Joanne’s request.
You see, Jo has this uncanny ability to not only see the best in people but also to identify talents and abilities in them that oftentimes they don’t even know they possess. And before they know what’s happening . . .they are agreeing to use their newly discovered talent because Jo asked them to. And let’s be honest. It’s so hard to say no to Jo. She just has so much faith in your abilities!
One of these memorable “Jo getting me to do something hard” moments happened a few years ago. Jo was the choir director and music coordinator in our ward. She had successfully gotten me to sing in a few group numbers in the past, and I might have had an occasional descant here and there . . . But this time Jo asked me if I would be willing to sing a solo entitled “For the Beauty of the Earth” for Thanksgiving. It was a beautiful song set to the melody of “Scarborough Fair.” My extremely talented friend Rebecca Lewis would be playing the violin while I sang. Immediately after Jo asked me my heart started beating fast, and the anxiety started kicking in. A solo? I love to sing, and I even have a decent singing voice, but I don’t do solos. When I was a child I had dreams of becoming an opera singer. But it didn’t take long for me to give up on that dream. I have been plagued with a debilitating performance anxiety my whole life. No matter how fabulous I sound while I’m practicing, every time I get up in front of people to sing . . . I transform into Mary the Chipmunk. My voice starts to shake so badly I can barely get through whatever song I’m singing. Yep, My place in the choir has been comfortably in the background blending with the masses. Maybe I’ll agree to do an occasional group number here and there . . . but no guarantees that the chipmunk voice won’t appear. But somehow because of Jo and her super power persuasive abilities I found myself saying yes. And for the next couple months we practiced and practiced and practiced that song. Jo had picked the perfect song for my voice, and somehow she knew that if I started so far in advance practicing that song I would be able to do it. The day of the performance I was pretty nervous. And when it was my turn to get up, I walked up to the microphone, hands clenched at my sides, I stared at a spot on the back wall, and I sang. I sang the song that I had practiced for months and could now sing in my sleep. And guess what? Mary the Chipmunk didn’t appear. I sang with confidence, and as I matched my voice with my friend’s beautiful violin the result was absolutely beautiful. I’ll never forget that experience. It was a breakthrough for me. And I was so grateful in that moment for my friend who sees the best in me, and asks me to do hard things with total confidence that I can do them.
As I’ve thought about Jo this week, I’ve thought about that children’s song “All God’s Creatures Got a Place in the Choir.” One would only have to witness one of Jo’s inspired Choir programs to see how well she knows that. She invites all who are willing to come be a part of the choir. And while it’s true that we have more talent in our little ward than you could ever imagine . . . Most of us are pretty average people who somehow find ourselves singing in group numbers, attempting solos, dressing up and acting in Christmas Nativities, playing instruments, narrating scripts, and for the less musically inclined (Bill) sometimes ringing bells . . . You don’t have to be a professional musician to be in our choir. Jo will discover what your talents are and you can be sure that she’ll use them.
And it’s no different in life. Jo is a pretty great choir director, but she’s an even better friend. Jo sees that “All God’s Creatures Got a Place in the Choir” of life. Jo sees the beauty in people no matter who they are. She will reach out to you as a friend and invite you to hike, run, walk, be in a book club, serve someone in need, or even be part of a birthday parade. Whatever she’s doing, she’ll invite others to be a part of it. She has faith in people. She sees what they can do and encourages them to do it. Sometimes . . . She'll even ask you to do hard things that you know you're good at but have given up on doing . . . like Writing. Because she loves you. I sure love your cheerleading guts Jo. Thanks for being such a wonderful example to me of inclusion and love, and for always pushing me.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!
