When Johnny Cash's Voice Changed

I'm in the midst of reading CASH: The Autobiography, by Johnny Cash with Patrick Carr, and particularly enjoyed The Man In Black's account of when his voice went from a boyish tenor to his manly baritone/bass.

     I was singing as I walked in the back door, and [my mother] wheeled around from the stove in shock and said, "Who was that?"

      I sang some more for her, exploring my new range, and as I found out how deep I could go, her eyes teared up and she said, "You sound exactly like my daddy." Then she said, "God has His hand on you, son. Don't ever forget the gift."

     I don't think Moma really wondered who was singing; she knew it was me. And that was the first time I remember her calling my voice "the gift." Thereafter she always used that term when she talked about my music, and I think she did so on purpose, to remind me that the music in me was something special given by God. My job was to care for it and use it well; I was its bearer, not its owner."

Truth is...any innate ability or talent any of us has can rightly be called a gift. We have not, nor cannot, create them. We can certainly develop them, harness them, and train ourselves to use them with excellence, but their existence within us is absolutely dependent on the grace of God.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  James 1:17 (NIV)