Overcoming Fear A story about overcoming either a mental or physical obstacle and had to be under one thousand words.
Tamecia had always been shy. It took her forever to make friends although people always seemed to be drawn to her. She would never go up and engage in conversation with anyone. She would only speak when spoken to. In her mind, she wasn't interesting enough to bother anyone with her petty thoughts. So, she would keep them to herself.
She loved to sing and, in fact, was very good at it. But, of course, being shy, she didn't think anyone wanted to hear her sing. She would only sing when she thought she was absolutely alone. Then, she would sing to her hearts content. Her mother would always hide beside her door to hear Tamecia sing. She had made the mistake of going in the room one time while Tamecia was singing. Tamecia was just getting to the good part of the song and heard her mother. As soon as Tamecia realized her mother walked in, she stopped singing. Just like that.
"Oh, Baby, you sing like a bird. You shouldn't keep that wonderful voice to yourself. With a voice that lovely, you should share it with the world."
"Oh, Mommy. I can't possibly sing in front of anyone else."
"You should at least join the choir. At least, you can blend in with all of the other voices."
"Ok, I will try it, Mommy."
Of course, in the choir, Tamecia sang very low where no one was sure to hear. But, she thoroughly enjoyed choir practice which was the high point of her week.
She truly looked forward to it. She quickly learned all of her choir songs. She even learned the solo parts and would sing them when she was alone.
One day, when Tamecia thought she was alone in the bathroom at the church, she began to sing one of the solo parts. Deborah, the choir director just happened to be in one of the stalls and heard her singing. She had to quickly come out of the stall to see who was singing so beautifully.
Tamecia immediately ceased singing when Deborah burst out of the stall. Deborah inquired, "Was that you singing just now?"
"Uh," Tamecia looked around to see if there was some way to get out of this jam. She soon realized that she was trapped. "Yes, ma'am, that was me."
"Oh, Tamecia, you have a beautiful voice. I want you to lead a song."
"No, ma'am. I couldn't possibly sing solo."
"You have to be kidding me. Have you heard yourself sing?"
"Now, you sound like my mother."
"Your mother is right. That voice has to be heard. That is why the Lord gave it to you. I want to tell you a story, if you don't mind."
"No, go ahead."
"When I was young, my mother always asked me to sing in front of people. I was so scared so I refused. Then, one day my favorite grandmother came to me. She said, 'Baby, the Lord gave you that beautiful voice to sing to the world. If you don't share it with the world, then He will take it away from you.'"
"Of course, that didn't convince me until the worst thing happened. I came down with a really bad cold and completely lost my voice. I couldn't even talk. After about a week, I recovered my voice, but with a very hoarse whisper."
"That is when my grandmother came to me once again. She says to me, 'The Lord is giving you one more chance. What are you going to do with it?' I promised her that I would sing to the world."
"That was the last time I saw her alive. No one else knew about that talk we had and I could just as easily have went back on my word. Of course, the Lord had not yet given me my voice back. It was not until I made it up in my mind to share my voice with the world that I got my voice back fully. That same day, I walked into the living room where my family was and began to sing my little heart out. After that, no one could keep me from singing. I never wanted to lose my voice again."
"Just think about what I said, ok."
"Ok, I will think about it."
That night, Tamecia had a dream that she was in a really bad car accident. She was injured so much that she had to have a tracheotomy and lost her voice forever. She woke up from that dream a changed girl.
The next day, Tamecia found her mother and began singing to her. She was very nervous but somehow managed to make it through the whole song.
The next choir practice, she walked in looking for Deborah. She walked right up to her and said, “I had a horrible dream where I was in a car accident and lost my voice forever. I even had to get a tracheotomy. I am ready to sing a solo.�
“Wow, sorry you had such a terrible dream but I am glad that you decided to sing a solo. I have the perfect song for you.�
She did get a standing ovation when she sang her first solo.