Journeys

God leads us on incredible journeys. My plan: go to college, marry, have kids--eventually grandchildren get a teaching credential & advanced degree to teach at the HS School & College levels--choral music & voice, work part time as a church choir director & professional choral singer, retire, travel. Sounded good to me. But my vision is so limited, He had & has so much more in mind. He has allowed all of my 'plans' to come to fruition (and it has been a journey with Him, having sought His guidance & blessing throughout), but with so much more. For every goal the is testing(s), a trial(s), a growth (and I'm not speaking of moles!) all in preparation for greater things. It's difficult to understand the deserts and wanderings, but the final outcome is so much more glorious. So I find myself, the last 1/3 of my life, back in school studying Christian Worship, wanting/thirsting for more, going deeper than this little pea-brain ever imagined and much more physically limited. Preparing me for what? My plan was to retire from teaching and work part time in the church in the area of music & worship...I don't know, now that the coursework is completed & I've taken early retirement (for health reasons) and the thesis just needs to be completed, I'm in a pothole. Most of my classmates have completed their degree and are moving on with their lives. I find myself still studying the postmodern culture (and all of the 'emerging' generation of youngin's with all of your creative thought) wondering how God is going to change our preconceived ideas of what His church is all about and going to be about in the upcoming generations. Does the 'modern' generation just die and the post-modern(ers) re-invent the wheel or will the new generation 'remember'--as God so often tells us to do. I'm beginning to see there is a role for my generation. With that command, there comes a responsibility to tell and teach The Story, not just Old & New Testament, but hasn't God still been acting since the time the New Testament was put in writing to the present? So, in regards to my story, I see it more as my part in His Story. What does that mean for the LPC Music Ministry? For now, it becomes the Chancel Choir's--Handbell ensemble's--LPC Praise Ensemble's-the Worship Leader's & Planner's part (or role) in His Story, and we must tell and teach and witness to His Story. For me, it's no longer a job, but a purpose driven into my life. It spreads beyond the anthem, out into mission and spiritual formation (transformation by the power of the Holy Spirit). What we do 'upfront' on a Sunday morning should be a reflection of what we do in and how we live our lives on a daily basis for and with God.