Was it a Miracle?

Or just good luck?

My friend Jill Ebstein wrote a wonderful piece:

In it she links to a YouTube video:

I wonder who was more surprised, Kristin at how well Sarah could sing or Sarah at being called up. It was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and Sarah was ready and took full advantage of it.

After watching this performance of Kristin Chenoweth and Sarah Horn singing “For Good” from the musical Wicked, I was thinking Sarah had to be a plant, the whole thing had to be staged. But as Sarah tells it in the following TED talk “Be Ready — Lessons from the Hollywood Bowl,” she truly was selected at random and had no idea that she would be called up on stage to sing that night.

As Sarah is a voice teacher at Riverside’s California Baptist University who also teaches children at a local youth theater.

That evening at the Hollywood Bowl, Sarah was selected from the thousands present to join Kristin on stage. That, in and of itself, is amazing. But that she could calm her nerves and sing so incredibly well before a huge audience shows how well Sarah had been prepared for that moment. What are the chances the song Kristin chose would be one of Sarah’s favorites — a song she had “rehearsed” hundreds of times as a young girl in high school?

I see God’s fingerprints all over this performance. Sarah, however, in typical teacher fashion, chalks it up to being prepared. Her message to BE READY and resonated with her students and many others.

I loved her humility in saying that what touched her most deeply was not the cheers of the crowd at the Hollywood Bowl, but the standing ovation she got from the children she taught.

I would call what happened to Sarah and how it played out a modern-day miracle.

Sure, she was prepared and, in a way, had been preparing for this all her life, but for her to be where she was, to be so well prepared to sing that particular song, to be called upon to perform it on stage with Kristin, and to pull it off with such aplomb speaks of an “Arranger” working behind the scenes.

What might happen for you if you poured your heart and soul into whatever brings you joy, whatever you feel called to do?

Jill, thank you for bringing Sarah Horn’s performance to my attention. It did much more than bring a smile to my face. It made me want to write and share the video with others, just as you did. I wish everyone could see it and the TED talk that followed.

We may not be called upon to sing before thousands or write for millions, but if we are diligent and work on perfecting our craft, we may reach thousands with a message of hope that they, too, can be better and achieve more than they think they can.

I love the impact Sarah’s performance is having on young people (and us older folks). I also love how she is using her moment of fame to inspire others to work hard and apply themselves so they will be prepared when an opportunity comes along.

Happy reading, writing, inspiring, and connecting, dear friends.