Grace- I Watched a Face Light Up

Orchestra.

That word means a lot of things to me and my friends. It means getting up early, driving 40 minutes south, having classes, eating out of a cooler, learning music, but especially, FRIENDS! Many of our friends from church go to orchestra, and so we view it as a social event in many ways where we get to meet with them and other friends that we met at orchestra.

This is my 3rd year in orchestra. My 1st year was as a beginner violinist at the age of 9. At that time I was the only one of us who write on here to go to orchestra.

One of the big reasons I was excited about going was the possibility of making friends. First day I sat with a girl named Madison. We hit it off, and I thought how lucky I was that I had found a friend on the first week!

Orchestra continued on, and for several weeks Madison and I were chummy, but then the inevitable happened, she realized that one of her best friends from Girl Scouts was also in her class. Immediately I was bumped off to member number three of the 2 limit group. From that time on I was pretty much a loner. I knew a boy that was in theory class, and we hung out together, but then he moved in the middle of the year. Now I really was a loner.

I tried to make friends with the other loners, but no one seemed to want to hang out with me. By the time the year was up, I was pretty fed up with it. My parents has decided to go ahead and have me and my brother leave orchestra for a while, as we were moving further into the country, and I had expressed loneliness and distaste for it.

The very year after I left all of my friends joined orchestra! Boy did I feel cheated! For the next 2-3 years I listened to them talk about classes, choir, and all of these fun experiences. Yet again I felt like a loner, the outsider cut off from the world that before I had felt like a stranger in.

A year later my parents surprised me by saying that I could go back to orchestra and join choir. I was thrilled! This time, I fit in right away. I had friends on all sides, and I made even more in a very short amount of time. I am now in my 2nd year back at orchestra, and I am in my realm. Walking down the hall is a pleasant experience, because there are friendly faces and friends on all sides. I am happy and look forward to Friday every week.

Today me and Lydia(who play violin in the same class, along with Celina who plays clarinet) were sitting together on the stage waiting for the rest of the students and teachers to arrive. I had scooted over to sit and chat with Lydia for a time before the girl who sits between us arrived. As we were chatting a girl who sits in the front row came up and took her seat. She looked longingly at me and Lydia chatting and giggling, and smiled a shy and timid smile.

"What's your name?" She shyly asked Lydia.

"Lydia." The girl then looked at me and smiled,

"What's your name?"

"I'm Grace." The girl(who's name is Emily) looked at us and asked,

"Are you two sisters?"

Lydia and I smiled at this question, for it is not the first time it has been asked. We happen to look very alike, and have been mistaken for sisters before. Especially since we are always walking around together.

"No, we are just friends. But other people have mistaken us for sisters."

We then exchanged the usual orchestra formalities, how long have you played, do you do private lessons, who's your teacher?

Emily said that this was her first year here, and she had only done private lessons before. After that we didn't get a chance to say much, since the rest of the students and teachers arrived, and we had to start class.

Our last class of the day is music theory class. Our playing group is usually broken up into 3 different theory classes, but on the first week of every month we have a music history class instead of a normal theory class. During this one we sit in a room in rows of chairs and listen to the teacher talk and play CD's at the front of the classroom.

Lydia and I were the first arrive, so we sat down in the first row and reserved a seat for Celina. Celina came in and sat down, and we started right in on chit chatting and giggling. After a time Emily came in the door and looked for a place to sit. She looked longingly at our happy threesome, and then went to the end of the row to sit by herself. The picture of her sitting at the end of the row all by herself was very sad to me, and I seemed to hear a little voice say,

"You know how she feels. You left orchestra because you didn't have any friends, and no one would go out of their way to reach out to you. Don't let that happen to her, show My love."

I looked at the seat next to Lydia, the was a purse sitting on the chair, obviously someone was reserving that seat, I then looked at the other side where Celina was. The was one open chair at the end, then the three seats that we were occupying, and then the purse seat.

"Girls, let's each move one seat down so that we can invite that girl to sit with us." Then, I leaned over and asked,

"Emily, do you want to come and sit with us?"

It was like watching beam of light burst through a break in the clouds, like the sparkle of gems as the sun catches them, like a bright lamp being turned on in a dark room. I watched her face light up, and she smiled. A big, warm, full smile. And eagerly she came and sat down beside us, as happy as could be, because she was wanted.

We didn't get a chance to talk much for the rest of class, but after class was over, Emily waited for us in the hallway.

"Thank you so much for letting me sit with you." She said with another one of her warm, full smiles. I smiled back,

"No problem. We should do it again sometime."

We have all felt like Emily at some point or another. Being alone is painful to everyone. We were made to be with each other, we were made for each other. In the Garden of Eden God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone, so he made Eve, thus creating fellowship.

God tells us to fellowship with other Christians, as this is strengthening to us all. And together we are happier, and together we are stronger.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion, but woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

It has been proven that married couples live longer than singles. It has also been proven that children will die without love. The need for love was put instinctively in us by God, so that we would need each other.

But many people in the world just don't get it. They are hurting, and they are searching for love in all of the wrong places. Cruel things happen, and people are hurt and pushed to the side. Then because of desperation, they do terrible things. Their lack for something that is so needed has become a weapon of destruction.

How can we help with this? This is a question that I often find myself asking. I am only 14 years old, and most of the time I feel helpless in the battle to change the world. I have been asking God to use me as a tool to build up and show His light, but sometimes I don't feel like I am doing anything at all.

Today, God showed me something. He showed me how loving on someone else and making an effort changed something. My giving love to Emily changed her entire day, so, could I do that for someone else?

The answer is yes. My showing love to people can make a difference. Sometimes just smiling warmly at someone can make a difference in their entire day. God will use you and me as tools to show His love to the world, we just have to be willing.

Have you ever watched a face light up? Do you want to? Just pray, and wait, and be ready. And when you hear God calling you to go...go.

There's is a song by the band mikeschair that I absolutely loved. It is called, "Keep Changing The World". Here are the words to the chorus,

To all the people who are fighting for the broken

All the people who keep holdin' onto love

All the people who are reachin' for the lonely

Keep changin' the world

You can't change it all at once. Goodness! I can't even drive yet! But I CAN do something! What about you?