She stood there, wild curls charting courses of their own, and princess nightgown working its way off one shoulder. Intent and focused, she waited for the music to start, with the power of the karaoke microphone in her little hand. And then she started…
The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen.
A kingdom of isolation,
and it looks like I’m the Queen
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn’t keep it in;
Heaven knows I’ve tried
When she sang it, though, because she was too young to read the words on the screen, it sounded more like…
The snow…white on the mountain…night
Not a FOOTPRINT…seen.
A king…of i…ation,
and it looks like I’m the QUEEN
The wind is how….swirl…inside
COULDN’T KEEP IT IN
…KNOWS I’VE TRIED!!!!
Becoming ever more confident, the music continued to the part she knew really well…
Don’t let them IN,
don’t let them SEE
Be the GOOD GIRL you always have to BE
Conceal, don’t FEEL
don’t LET THEM KNOOOOOOOWWWW…
Well NOW THEY KNOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!
Then she began to channel her inner Elsa, and with all the angst of the part she launched into the beloved chorus with everything she had…
Let it GO (foot stamp on the ground), let it GO (the other foot down hard)
CAN’T HOLD IT BACK ANYMOOOOORE!! (arm flies up)Let it GO, let it GO
Turn away and SLAM THE DOOR
I….DON’T….CARE
what they’re GOING…TO…SAY
Let the storm rage ONNNNNNNN.
THE COLD NEVER BOTHERED ME ANYWAYYYYYY…
And you know what? She was completely out of key the whole time. Either above or below Idina Menzel’s pitch at any given moment, keeping her own tempo, and who cared about knowing all the words? But in her mind, she was playing to Carnegie and was the BEST THING THEY’D EVER HEARD.
How would the world be different if we all sang our heart’s song like my 4-year-old grandgirl?
With reckless abandon?
Without fear of judgment?
Without fear of anything?
What would happen if we just let it go and SANG?
I wish I knew. I wish we all did.
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! Psalm 95:1-2 ESV