Saying Goodbye

Those that truly know me, know that I'm kind of introverted. I don't like to stand out in a group, I'm uncomfortable in certain social situations. I'm more comfortable if I have a job or a title. I'm a very vocal advocate for my patients under the RN title. I'm perfectly comfortable talking on the phone to a stranger if I'm acting as a secretary for Triple A Wood Co. However, when it comes down to being Heather Agee, I'm not so outgoing or vocal. I'd rather order online than talk to the Pizza Hut people. I perform at weddings, showers, funerals, etc on auto pilot and I need a couple hours to recover after I'm done. The only exception to my introversion is performance.

I love to sing. I've loved it my whole life. I feel that God gave me a gift and throughout my life I have tried to give Him the glory and share my talent as needed. I've always loved to sing in a choir. In my teenage days I was selected to serve in the Mississippi Baptist All State Youth Choir. We toured the south east over the course of a month and sang at various churches. It was an experience I will never forget.

After I married and  became a mother, my priorities changed. I didn't want to commit to choir practices and cantatas. I felt I needed to be home with my babies. And I was home with them. I was so distracted with the mom life that I fell out of church service all together. A divorce and remarriage happened and I found myself and my new husband along with our now three children in a church setting once again. Soon after we joined our new church I was thrust into a leadership role. I was music director for a time at Oak Grove Baptist Church. We were too small to have a choir so it was mostly me leading the congregation in song. God has His way of getting you back to what He wants you to do.

After several sweet years at Oak Grove our family felt like it was time for a move. The first church we visited was Friendship Baptist Church in Vineland. We fell in love the first Sunday we were there. The people were so loving and friendly, the pastor's message was poignant and well thought out and gratefully received, but the music..... the music was spectacular.

This is where Harold Wayne Leonard comes in. Friendship Baptist Church's choir was wonderful but the piano behind it was what perked my ear. Our first Sunday there Harold Wayne played the most beautiful offeratory hymn I'd ever heard. I knew talent and he was surely talented.

I later learned that he had quite a legacy on his piano. Years of accompanying the Centurian gospel group had made him a local celebrity. You wouldn't have known that to talk to him. He was so humble about his talent. My father in law complemented him about a particularly heart rendering offeratory hymn one Sunday and he piously replied "Did it make you want to put a little bit more in the plate?" He was joking in his quiet way... but the truth is that it did make us want to put another dollar in the plate. His playing made you want to be a part of something. It made my family want to be a part of Friendship Baprist church. Harold Wayne's graceful piano playing was the bait and the rest of the Friendship family was the hook.

It took all of two weeks of regular attendance for Harold Wayne, along with others (Pauline, Stacey, Charlotte, Darron) to seek me out and recruit me for the Friendship Choir. We'd not even moved our letter before I was in the choir loft singing old southern gospel music with some of the most talented singers I've ever sung with. I think after the third week there we knew we were home and our family officially joined the church.

It was in the fall, and revival was fast approaching. Harold Wayne didn't skip a beat. He called and asked me to come to the "Playhouse" to practice some specials for revival. My introverted self balked. I didn't want to go. I didn't know these people that well. I went anyway. And God had a blessing for me out on that little farm in Vineland. Harold Wayne played and me and Joyce Vick and Jim Patrick sang hymn after hymn. Harold Wayne called it practicing but for me it was worship.

We had church in his little play house that night and I never for one second felt like a newcomer or an outsider. He and I were kindred spirits through music. We may have both been a little introverted in some situations but when it came to music we let our light shine. He'd be grinning at the piano in the fellowship hall and I would know he wanted me to sing a solo. He'd always play a new song for me on Sunday night and make sure I thought the choir would like it. He was my friend and I will miss him so.

But I'm not alone. He was a friend to so many. That was definitely evident today by the outpouring of love at his funeral service. I am so blessed to have known Harold Wayne Leonard. I thank him for pushing me back to serving the Lord through song and I will keep doing so in his memory. He will always be remembered by me.