A Woman's Voice by: Gail White Biggers

March has been incredible. I have been surrounded by conversations and experiences that uplift the voices of women both in the past and present. Ooooh, the voices of women from my own community to voices from women shaped by experiences most unfamiliar to me. Just a few days ago, I was on Zoom watching and listening to Rhiannon Giddens and Rissi Palmer dialogue about their southern roots, being Black women who play the fiddle, banjo, and being extraordinary Southern Soul singers. I listened to how they use their voices and hands to create melodies and a feeling that connects you to your roots. Their sounds are unfamiliar- sounds that were not part of my Watts upbringing, but in this season, I can connect to their artistry and how their God-given abilities speak a universal truth to my own purpose. “Gail, use your voice and make your own extraordinary melodies.” I am not a singer or a songwriter, but I believe that I was created to submit my being to our creator's will. I wonder what He could do with me if I just gave my voice over to Him daily? I am grateful that this is not just about me, but about you too. I wonder what melodies you are creating from the well of your gifts, your talents, your resources, and your voice. We are immersed in dialogue, conversations, monologues, tweets, posts, webinars, seminars, inbox messages, sermons, the news, plots, scripts, series, emails, texts, and self-talk. Lord, there are too many voices! This pandemic has been tough in ways that I may explain in April, but I have also been grateful for what stay-at-home orders and physical distancing have surprisingly delivered. I have been forced to sort through the barrage of voices whose purpose was only to bring me meaningless tasks, distract me from what matters most, and replace my voice with something else. I am a woman, and today I am recommitting to my own voice, although flawed and imperfect, yet passionate, empathic, and shrouded with grace. Grace is like the family protector, the big brother, the patriarch, or the matriarch. The presence of grace is my only comfort and confidence; I cannot create without it.