Wedding table

The voice mail said, “Linda, call me, please.”  So I did.  And what I received was a precious invitation to play oboe at a friend’s wedding.  Entirely elated, I accepted.  Feeling immensely blessed, I replied, “Yes, we’ll be there.”  Yet there were more blessings to come.  After the wedding ceremony, we enjoyed dinner with others in the party, and as we meandered through topics of job, food, and travel, I soon found my heart fluttering.  One lady posed, “What do we do when my husband retires?”  Then her husband chimed in, saying he didn’t want to sit around retired and doing nothing.  And as the comment seemed to fit, I added, “The Lord is always at work.  He has roles for us.  Just ask Him what to do.”  A statement so simple, really.  But it’s crucial to remember that not every household speaks the name of the Lord.  And in that moment of my heart fluttering, maybe it was nervousness creeping in, or maybe temptation to discourage the speaking of His name.  Nevertheless I had options to weigh and a decision to make.  How will these people respond?  Do I risk any adverse reaction?  Do I follow through, or do I bow out?  Philippians 2:9-10 tells about Jesus, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  So I determine to not fear people's reactions.  May we trust the Lord to pattern our steps.  May we love people enough to be willing to share the name of Christ.  May we each press through our fluttering.

Pediatric puppets

To watch God work is such a thrill.  All giddy and giggly, I feel like a little kid.  And to realize this thrill is available to us all is another excitement all its own.  Recently I’ve made 2 trips to the hospital with a friend to share puppets and music.  The whole idea for puppets began almost a year ago.  Adding ukulele, harmonica, percussion eggs, and a tambourine felt almost natural, following on a first request for soothing music, maybe flute, in the NICU.  Lots of playful sounds for young interaction.  Sometimes wondering if this mix would actually fit with any therapy textbook, I trust the Lord ultimately to tailor our tasks.  And the string of conversations to make all this happen has involved some waiting time.  But then one volunteer coordinator at one hospital called another volunteer coordinator at another hospital, and soon came song and music suggestions from friends and YouTube and some books about making puppets.  Not too long ago I realized the Lord supplying me with fabric, jewelry, craft items, even socks, mostly free as friends cleaned out their closets, leaving me to purchase only occasional small pieces.  The musical instruments the Lord supplied me over the years, even receiving some as gifts.  Then came days like New Year’s Eve when I was tempted, “Why am I making puppets?  I don’t even have a definite place to use them.”  Yet I kept praying and constructing them in faith.  And now I load my pull-cart to tote everything into the hospital to meet these precious children.  We meet a little girl who smiles to name one puppet Albert.  Two young sisters find inspiration in the ukulele to tell us about their older sister's music.  Two different playrooms resonate with our traveling percussion sounds, and we learn the flute eases the heart rate of a little girl in ICU.  All this while the puppets dance and sing and welcome their new puppeteers.  Simply awe-inspiring of the Lord.  At times we feel just goofy with glee.  And we eagerly await our next trip down the hospital hallways.  May He give us fresh eyes for recognizing the thrill of each new blessing.