Follow the Music | A Journey of Following Jesus Through Music

I met Dayna in church choir over twenty years ago. While being under her leadership in choir as a young adult and then regularly running into her in town years later as a new mom, she became a woman that I respected and trusted. The joy and wisdom that flows from her is a gift from God that has blessed me throughout the past years. Bobby, too, has spread the love of God through music to many people. As I watch them use their gifts, I see that Jesus is honored through the music they share and the love they have between each other. I hope you enjoy reading about how God led them to Himself and to each other through music.

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Hi everyone! My name is Dayna Simma, and I am honored to be sharing this guest blog post today. Rhondalyn and I have known each other for longer than I can remember, reaching all the way back to her years as a student at Oklahoma State University. We did not meet at OSU, however. Our friendship developed as a result of our joint involvement in various musical endeavors at our church, Hillcrest Baptist, in Stillwater, OK.

Funny story, though - I'm originally from Mississippi. So how did I end up at Hillcrest Baptist Church in Stillwater? Simply put, I followed the music. I ventured 600ish miles from my hometown in order to major in music education at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, OK. And before you ask, yes, there were other schools that were closer to home than OBU. But I am convinced that my Heavenly Father put me there, even before I was truly submitted to His working in my life. (That is a whole different story for another blog post, though.) Suffice to say, I decided to go to OBU, and to subsequently take a music teaching job in Oklahoma instead of moving back to Mississippi after I graduated from college. This started a chain of events that made my life what it is today.

I think it was inevitable that music would not just be my profession, but an integral part of my life. After graduating from OBU, I started my career as a K-12 music teacher in the tiny town of Coyle, OK, with a student population of 300. The entire district consisted of 300 students, divided by 13 grades. Do the math - that’s an average of 23 students per grade, which translates to one class per grade. Like I said, TINY. I threw myself into my job, with long days and lots of schoolwork at night. Remember, this was 1983 - pre-Amazon, Pinterest, internet, and word processing - and everything had to be done by hand and took FOREVER. And since there were not many social prospects in that tiny town, it didn’t really matter that I basically did school every waking hour. Music was my life and breath. But after I finished my first year of teaching, my observing teacher pointed out that I had no social life, and I’d better get one soon, or I would quickly catch a nasty case of teacher burnout. I decided church would be a relatively safe place to make some friends, and they might even have a choir I could sing in. That’s how I ended up at Hillcrest Baptist Church. Once again, God used music to get me where He wanted me.

I didn’t really go to church to find a husband - but I did. In the choir, of all places. Actually, I was there first, and Bobby joined so he could get to know me (and that is a story for yet another blog post)! One of the things that I immediately noticed about Bobby was that he loved music in the same way I did. Some people like music, enjoy music, dabble in music. Bobby and I NEED music. I shouldn’t be surprised God brought me to someone who loves music like I do. My mom had been praying. Literally. She had a list of characteristics she was praying into my future mate. Actually, I had a list, too, but Mom did better than I did. All of the characteristics she prayed for, including “has some appreciation for music,” are present in Bobby. Unfortunately, I requested someone who “likes to give back rubs”, and he does not. Not a deal-breaker, though. Long story short, when Bobby asked me to marry him, I followed the leading of my Heavenly Father, and I followed the music once again.

An elementary school teacher who sings and plays the piano plus a school music teacher who also sings and directs choirs equals an extremely musical marriage! Music has always played a major role in our life together. We’ve shared music experiences at church services, school programs, weddings, funerals, revivals, community groups, professional conventions, restaurants, hotels, alumni dinners, club meetings, nursing homes, living centers, birthday parties, New Years’ Eve parties, a casino, and one super fancy Christmas party which involved using a servants’ entrance.🤨

We are fully convinced that God gave us talents to be used to glorify Him, minister to others, and even make money every now and then. But He also used music in our marriage in more subtle ways. For both of us, He awakened interests that had been buried below. For me, I had always been a lover of jazz. But Bobby built on that by sharing his love of classic music from the early to mid-1900’s, and as a result, I learned new tunes that are now my favorites, even 30+ years later. For Bobby, I reminded him how much he enjoyed singing choral music, and he has sung in every choir that he could since we got married. He even branched out and had an opportunity to direct a special choir in his professional organization! As a couple, God used music as a special bond between us as musicians.

Anyone who loves music understands that there is an automatic bond with others who make music, too. God drew our hearts together in a way that couldn’t have been accomplished otherwise. Even when we struggle against each other, the music pulls us back together.

2020 brought struggles to all individuals, and at the beginning, my greatest loss was not being able to teach my students, not being able to sing at church, and not being able to direct our Perkins Community Choir at Christmas. It was as if I’d had part of my life sucked out of me. And in a way, I guess I did. There were people who did not understand why not being able to sing with others for months was such a big deal. But Bobby did. He supported, encouraged, and loved me through it all. 

Early in our marriage, God clearly spoke to me, and told me I’d never be famous, but he would do great works through our children. And that’s ok, because being famous was never a goal for either Bobby or me. Famous or not, God has used us in all kinds of settings. No matter where we have been making music, Bobby has been my biggest cheerleader, never losing faith in my abilities, even when I did. We do not have a perfect marriage - but we are a great team. Through all the music we experience together, we are having fun, sharing a great hobby, and attempting to give our best to the Master who saved us from ourselves. I’m so thankful God gave us the gift of music, and the opportunity to follow that music as we serve Him.