Hi, my name is Sharon, I'm 56-years-old, married to my wonderful husband James who volunteers as our sound man when his schedule allows for it. James and I are both the victims of divorce, not of our own will. I am the mother of 5 children, 4 girls and a deceased son Beau who I am certain is now enjoying the presence of our wonderful savior Jesus. My four girls have blessed me with a total of 6 grandchildren with 2 on the way as of this date.
I came from a very musically oriented family, my oldest brother Jack plays guitar, banjo, harmonica and sings. Several of my other brothers took up playing guitar as well. I've loved to sing from the time I was a small child. I remember having aspirations of being an opera singer as a young girl, I would listen to Operas and try to mimic the beautiful arias. As a teenager I became facinated with playing guitar and loved playing and singing western ballads, especially those of Marty Robins (Gunfighter Ballads was my favorite). There was a song on that album that told the story of a cattle rustler having an experience with Christ during a fierce storm, it was one that I loved to play and sing as it's message was so clear, Jesus is with us always and when the storms of life are about to swallow us up, there he is, to lift us up, give us hope and help us back along the way.
My testimony for Christ is this: I was baptized into Christ in my late 20's after studying with a couple from the Brighton Church of Christ. I remember feeling such a weight lifted off of me as I was cleasned of my former sinful self. I would like to say that that lasted, but unfortunately I allowed life to get in the way and pull me off the Christian path. After my ex-husband decided that he wanted a divorce for reasons which I won't go into. Several years after the divorce, I found a new kind of freedom. The freedom to sin wilfully and unashamedly. It was during this time that I met James (my husband) and although I fell madly in love with him, the path that he was walking was not a good one either; he didn't know any better, but I did. Even through the 6-7 years of living a lascivious lifestyle, I knew the Lord was there in the background and I knew my actions were hurting him more than I could know at the time. It wasn't until my only son Beau was diagnosed with brain cancer that I began to turn around, realizing that I had no right to pray and plead for healing for my son given the life I was living. It was a difficult road back and even though my son died, he did accept Christ as his savior and was baptized into Christ about 7 months before his death. I've never known such agonizing pain as I did when Beau died, he was only 24 and had barely begun to live. I asked why couldn't it have been me, it should have been, I deserved it. But the Lord had other plans and I know I couldn't have weathered this tragic loss were it not for Him. I am just thankful that even through tragedy he was able to bring me back into the fold. I can in all honesty say "I once was lost, but now I'm found". After my return to Christ, eventually my husband put Him on in baptism too as well as my youngest daughter. Thank you Lord Jesus!
I've been an admirer of Living Water A Cappella ever since it's inception. I always wanted to be a part of the group but doubted my ability to be "good enough" or fully commit to the group until recently. I think I mentioned that I sang soprano as a child, well... I did as a young woman as well, but years of cigarette smoking deepend my voice to the point that now I sing in the tenor to alto range. I quit smoking in November of 2001, the Monday after Thanksgiving. I won't go into the details but I didn't quit for my own good, I quit to help someone else quit. Now the funny thing is this, after all those years of smoking (39 years), I'm still able to sing, that in itself is a miracle to me, but God took even that and turned it into a means of glorifying Him. There is nothing that soothes my soul more than singing the praises of my Lord, of telling of His mighty deed and all encompassing love through songs and hymns. I am blessed and honored to be a member of Living Water A Cappella. I pray that other's will be blessed and brought closer to Jesus through the songs that we sing.