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The day Varina shone

Clarence Peters

It sounded like one more offbeat request to turn down. Pastors get them now and then. Some people want the public ear so they can hear their own voice. You’ve got to draw the line somewhere.

The “special” people among us are particularly anxious for the microphone. So when Varina asked if she could sing a song, I groaned inwardly. To be polite, I asked, “Which song would you like to sing?” I hoped it would be some inspirational song like “Jesus Loves Me” or “Amazing Grace”.

“ ‘You Light Up My Life’.”

“Oh great,” I thought. “She probably can’t sing a note. Even more, she wants to sing ‘You Light Up My Life’ – a secular song in church! Fat chance.

But Varina had been taking baptism classes. It was now her second time through. First time around, she’d broken her ankle before baptism. Others had decided it was best for her to delay the immersion. Time proved she wasn’t to be deterred. Leg healed, we were now practising for her public interview.

“Why do you want to be baptized?” I asked her.

“To be a member.”

Theologically, that was a little weak, so I coached her, “To follow Jesus?”

“Yes, to follow Jesus,” she echoed.

You never knew exactly what Varina was going to say. Sometimes she was bang on, and the next time she was in her own orbit. “You Light Up My Life” was not likely to be appropriate.

But something in me couldn’t let it go without thought. I asked her, “Varina, if you were to sing that song, whom would you sing it for?”

Not a moment’s hesitation. “JESUS!”

“We’ll see,” I said.

After finding the lyrics, I thought, “This just might work.” We practised a couple of times, and she needed a little help, but she sang remarkably on tune. I decided we’d try just the first verse and the chorus.

Baptism Sunday came. We practised before church, and I asked, “Whom are you going to sing this for?”

“The people,” came the reply.

“No,” I groaned. “For Jesus, remember?” It was going to be hit or miss.

Our ranks swelled into hundreds of people – believers and many unbelievers. Moving testimonies preceded Varina’s, and then it was her turn. She answered every interview question with answers that could pass the scrutiny of a Bible college president.

“Varina, do you love Jesus?” I asked.

“Yes, I do.”

“Why did Jesus die on the cross?”

“To forgive my sins.”

“You’ve shared with me that sometimes you’ve done wrong. Does God forgive you when you ask Him?”

“Yes, He does.”

“Why do you want to be baptized?”

“To be a good Christian.”

Then it was time to sing. She held the mic close. I held my breath a little as I asked her, “Varina, whom are you singing . . . ?”

“JESUS!” she interrupted.

Smiling now, I said, “Whom are you singing this song for?”

“JESUS!” she gladly repeated.

The chords began. She came in right on cue. “So many nights, I’d sit by my window, Waiting for someone to sing me his song.”

I wonder how much loneliness she has felt, living in a world that sometimes seems her own.

She sang on. “So many dreams, I kept deep inside me, alone in the dark.”

Dreams of what? Does she sometimes dream about being just like everyone else? Does she sometimes feel the difference?

“But now You’ve come along.”

She knew the chorus well, and she nailed it: “And You, You light up my life. You give me hope to carry on. You light up my life and fill my nights with song.”

The music faded, and the congregation applauded heartily. We knew it had been a sacred moment. The light of Jesus shone through Varina that day.

It made me glad to be a pastor. It made me glad for a gracious congregation. It made me glad to be part of a church which accepts weak and strong. To want to belong as a member is something others could learn from Varina.

Later that day, I gave Varina a verse. The words of Jesus from John 8:12 seemed spoken for her: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Clarence Peters is senior pastor of Waldheim (Sask.) MB Church.

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Last modified June 5, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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