Don’t Wait!

By Sergio Granillo (Posted on The Messenger Newsletter, October 2013) It was a dark night of October 2007, during one of those stations of life when the way ahead could not be seen... she woke up with those words stock in her head: “Don’t wait... don’t wait... don’t wait...” In the middle of the night, she jumped out of bed and sat down and wrote all the lyrics to her song “Don’t wait”. This is how Linda Robinson explained how her song was born, during her first concert and launch of her CD –with the same title of that song-. Rather than a frivolous artistic event, it was a testimony of faith of a woman who has endured long years of trails, difficult times, and who has found comfort and light in her faith. Good things happen to good people. Linda has always loved music, born in Toronto; she is now part of Parkdale United Church Choir, The Toronto Song Lovers Choir and The Harbourfront Chorus. For a long time she had dreamed of giving a step up to her singing and song-writing skills. One fine day, God sent angels her way to make those dreams come true. Along with her love for music is her care for children and she has championed some church initiatives like Miss Penny and diverse fundraisers to sponsor children to go to camp. With those goals in her head, for seven years she was looking for an opportunity to record a CD and make concerts to put together the resources to send more kids to camp. She soon realized that it would not happen if she did it alone, so she prayed –she talked to Father God- and asked for help. And help came her way... She told him “I get it! I am not the one who is supposed to choose who is working on this CD, It is you! And I need your help”. And within a week, one by one, many angels showed up: Frank McNulty from JBG Productions, Eddie Bullen from Thunderdome Studios, Charles Ellsworth –Director and pianist of Parkdale United Church Choir-, Gail Berry –Linda’s sister-, and everyone who believed in her quest. In between songs, Linda told a bit of her personal stories and thanked the audience, each one of them represents “the pieces that have built up her life”. Kind acknowledgement was given too to The Knifty Knitters and the choirs where she shares regularly her vocal talent; to Ivy Vincent for the background vocals and Charles Ellsworth at the piano during the concert. The opening piece of this delightful concert was “As I Journey”. Linda recalls that this song stems from a daily prayer she would recite asking God for those thingsshe needed each day to be the person He would have her be and do the things He felt she needed to do in each encounter and each endeavour of the day. With a complete domain of the stage, Linda introduced each of her songs and the blessings they have brought to her life. Some of the titles: ‘His eye is on the sparrow”, “People get ready”, “As I journey” and “Don’t wait”. This year has been particularly fruitful for her artistic skills. Few weeks ago, she had the opportunity to participate singing and acting in the community musical “One Hundred Years”, produced to celebrate the Centenary of the Toronto St. Christopher House. Both the proceeds of the CD and the concert will go to the program “Send a Child to Camp”. While operating The Preschooler’s Tutor Academic Care Centre, she found the need in the Parkdale Community for low income families to send their children to camp, to give these kids the opportunity to experience the life outside of the urban environment and develop self confidence. Another Linda’s initiative is “Miss Penny”, which since 2006 has 15 children attend to Camp Big Canoe in Muskoka. At the end of the event, last Saturday October 12 at Parkdale United Church, Linda gave another powerful message: “Dreams come true!”. No matter how old you are or how many times you have tried before, dreams are about never giving up, never stop believing, one day it will happen. People in the sanctuary were delighted with the beautiful sounds of the music and deeply touched by the message the songs conveyed. Coming out of the voice of a woman who has faced adversity and never surrendered, full of positivity, always available to listen to her friends and working hard in many outreach programs. It takes more than courage, creativity, hard work and great skills; it takes a lot of faith. We all are weak, but we are not alone in this journey. Why facing life on our own if there is a loving father ready to listen to us. Don’t wait to talk with him.