"HE DID IT!!!" -- PERSONIFIED IN CLAY'S WHOLE LIFE

I got an email this morning from a friend. The title said simply, "HE DID IT!" I knew exactly what she meant by that -- Clay had hit the high note in "All Is Well" at the Merrillville concert. Of course, we all had heard about the night before when all was not well....the note had not come out right. So, of course, we were all so thrilled to hear that he had not only faced the challenge the next night, but had hands down been victorious!

This made me think about Clay and the sum of his life. It seems to me that "He did it" pretty much says it all about the flow of Clay's life. Clay once said, "The greatest glory never comes from falling, but from rising each time you fall." If that is the case, then hitting last night's note was a most glorious moment indeed. But there have been so many cases throughout Clay's life where he could say, "I did it! I rose from what seemed to be certain defeat to stand victorious!"

In "Learning To Sing", Clay filled us in on the many times he was bullied by his classmates. It seemed that Clay was falling prey to all of these bullies, letting them pick on him and treat him horrible. But Clay learned from each of these moments, maybe not at the time, but he says in LTS that he learned that "people are going to treat you badly, and ultimately that is out of your control." Being treated so badly at a young age also seems to have helped Clay know how to relate and reach out to people going through difficulties. Difficulties can make you or break you, and they have definitely helped to make Clay the man he is today.

I look at the horrible situation from the first of this year, and we wondered how Clay would ever overcome this. But all along Clay was leaning on friends, family, and of course, God -- "The Lord will fight for you. All you have to do is stand still." Exodus 14:14 All of that seems far away to me now. We didn't think it would ever end. I look at all Clay has accomplished since then. He lifted himself up and met the test. "HE DID IT!" And he didn't wait to do it later on down the road. Who would think that Clay would try to hit that note the very next night? Should he have waited till his voice was more warmed up and he had a chance to sing more? Maybe he should have just sung it an octave lower this time. But that's not how Clay thinks. He knew he could hit it and he was bound and determined to make a go of it. And hit it, he did! He trotted himself right out there, fingers crossed, look of determination on his face, and he gave it all he had, and...WHAM BANG!...hit the best note of his life!! All his life he has been lifting himself up and "hitting the high notes" though, so should we really be surprised that he did so this time too?

And of course, the fans were there for him as "he did it", whether they were at the concert cheering him on or sitting in their rooms taking part in the cellcert. I'm proud of Clay's fans, proud to be a small part of encouraging him to "reach out and hit the high notes" in his life.

Hitting the high note in AIW is just a continuation of the Clay we have known for the past three going on four years. Nothing different, nothing changed on the inside of this man. And no doubt in my mind that he will be hitting the high notes from here on. Because this is what Clay is all about and how he lives his life.

All is well.



Thanks to fivegoldens, snix, clc4clay, permaswooned, and Invisible926 for the great pictures from the Merrillville show.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, ATDW, All Is Well, Merry Christmas With Love, Invisible