By Donna Williams
Her name is Susan Boyle and she lives in England. I first heard her name on news broadcast a few weeks ago, something about her performance on the program, “Britain’s Got Talent,” a kind of American Idol format without all the extra hoopla of city to city and stage to stage. Ms. Boyle was very plain, very homely and yet there was something about her performance that knocked the judges off their feet. The news program did not play any part of her performance so I just assumed it was just probably better than what her appearance belied.
AOL posted a snippet about Ms. Boyle’s stiffest competition being a 12-year old boy. When I clicked on the subject line, a video of Ms. Boyle’s performance (as well as the young man’s) was online, so I decided to listen to her. When Ms. Boyle stepped onto the stage, the faces of the judges and the faces of the people in the audience were like, “Are you kidding me?” They were prepared to laugh and make fun of this woman. Everyone took one look at her, a stocky, bushy browed 47-year old woman, and immediately scoffed at the notion that she could sing at all.
One judge asked, “What are you going to sing?” When she replied, “I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables,” the judges, of whom Simon Cowell is one, looked at one another with “Yeah, right” expressions.
Well, Ms. Boyle wiped those smug looks right off their faces almost immediately after she began to sing. Within seconds, the audience was cheering and on their feet and the judges just looked plain dumbfounded. They could not believe the beauty and the power of the voice that emanated out of this plain and homely woman who had declared, prior to her performance, “I’ve never been married; never been kissed.” When she completed the song, the audience and two of the judges gave her a standing ovation (of course Simon didn’t), and all the judges (including Simon) could not give her enough accolades.
I do not know if Ms. Boyle will win this competition; Britain has to vote and her competition is a dimpled twelve-year old boy who wowed the judges with his rendition of “Who’s Loving You.” I personally think Ms. Boyle should win simply because she refused to let go of her dream of being a professional singer no matter how foolish it seemed to others.
What dream, dear Sister, have you let go of and relegated to the trash bin of life simply because you are not _______________________________ (fill in the blank), or things are not________________________(fill in the blank). Perhaps you should watch Ms. Boyle’s video and as you watch it, remember Ephesians 3:20 and Philippians 4:13. Keep God in view and continue to dream your dream. He is still able!
