An Aria in Costco

I once mentioned that when I get to heaven, if heaven has Costco, I would like to sing an aria in the middle of the store.

A friend asked, “Why is that your dream? What is it about that dream that makes you happy?”

“I could be a one-person flashmob! Isn’t that awesome?!”

“But why is that your dream?”

“I don’t know! I just think it would be cool!”

The third time she asked, she said, “It could be that this is too deep. But something about that dream speaks to you. Something about that dream calls to you. Can you figure out what it is, and then move forward? Maybe you can’t actually sing an aria in Costco, but is there something else you can do that would satisfy that dream in a different way?”

Since she had now asked me three times, and I appreciated the question, but had no real answer, I said something like, “Maybe I just want to be famous?”

And we left it at that.

But the thrice-asked question stayed with me.

Because I am not going back to school to study opera. And even if I did, “O Mio Babbino Caro” is decidedly out of my range. I am firmly an alto, and not a soprano.

I talked to the Lord about it. What is it about that dream that makes me happy?

A week later, a friend said, “You bring to the surface what is under the deep. Coral reefs are so brightly colored, and yet how many people get to see them? There are so few that actually will get to see way down deep. But you bring to the surface that which is under the deep.”

Oh! This triggered a wailing in my spirit.

Because I do want to be able to show beauty to the people who don’t see it.

Like singing an aria in Costco!

No one goes to Costco thinking, “What I really hope is that I will enjoy the beauty of a trained soprano today!”

But someone could surprise people with beauty!

We can surprise people with Jesus! With grace! With prayer! With joy!

That maybe isn’t all of the longing in my heart. But it’s a part of it.

Which means: every day I am actually doing my own equivalent of singing an aria in Costco.

This is why I’m experimenting with Growing Prayer.

A teaching early in the month.

Then we’ll have a debrief Q&A two weeks later.

And I’m kicking around some other ideas.

But this is one of the ways I’m hoping to bring beauty to unexpected places.

And if you, too, have a dream that you don’t fully understand … maybe ask the Lord what it is about that dream that appeals to you.

Lord, release us to dream! We want more of you! Thank you for all your goodness to us!

This is what we hope for: that, as your faith increases, we will be given a much larger space for work,

Amy Joy

You are invited! Sign up for the Prayer Refresh, an email series with short prayers to pray as you go about your day. The first five readers all wrote me at different times and said, “This is changing my life.”