Leap of Faith

Meet Ace.

For those of you that know me well, this comes as no surprise. KISS is my favorite band.

They have been ever since I was six years old--no lie, six years old. I used to spin their albums on my Fisher Price record player. Thank goodness this six year old did not understand the lyrics! 

As I grew older, my KISS collection grew. Ace Frehley's guitar licks were awe-inspiring. When I turned 15, I bought my first electric guitar and sat for hours in my room jamming to Ace's masterpieces. I taught myself to play and suffered through sore, bleeding fingers and torn calluses. 

I actually became pretty good, but I had a problem. I would choke whenever anyone outside my immediate family would ask me to play. Someone would watch me and I'd become a bundle of nerves, hitting wrong strings and incorrect chords. It was frustrating beyond belief.

When I was in high school, my chorus class did their annual production. We had some singers that auditioned for solo spots and I didn't give myself a choice. I auditioned not only to sing, but to play my guitar for the school production.

I got the gig.

I stood in front of my entire chorus class and the entire school. This was the first time my class had even heard me sing a solo. I panicked on the first note and the first chord, but it got so much easier as I continued. I ignored the faces in the audience and mentally told myself, "This is what you have been waiting for. All those hours in your room were for something." I sang and played my heart out to The Beatles, Let It Be.

When I finished the last word and strung the last chord, there was that brief moment of silence where you close your eyes and pray for the best. My chorus class screamed, whistled and clapped as did the audience. 

Afterwards, a friend of mine approached me and I'll never forget his words. "I didn't know you could sing. I didn't even know you could play the guitar. You were amazing. Why didn't you do this sooner?" I don't know what I was so afraid of.

I took a leap of faith that day and it paid off.

Did you ever take a leap of faith and did it pay off?