Thank goodness it's Sunday night. For awhile it seemed the day just would not end. A man my age can't keep up with things the way he once could. Well, that may be a stretch but it does wear on me more than in earlier years. Let's hope that it was a good day. There are a few things that I would correct but my hope is overall it went well. It's true that one can never learn it all or even seem to get it all done right all the time. Right now there is a decent sized list of things that need my attention for improvement. This isn't a list on stuff others need to do but they are corrections all my own. Sometimes the sameness of ministry can deceive you into habits that are not always healthy. No doubt there is something about getting older that can lead to a laziness you wouldn't allow in younger days. Anyway, this is rambling now so let's move on.

We recognized our graduates today. This becomes more bittersweet for me the longer the ministry here continues. And no, we will not begin to think of how it will feel two years from now when my oldest graduates. We also had a baccalaureate service at our high school this afternoon. Thank goodness for a spell checker as I don't think I can spell that word again! It was my job to open and close with prayer. It seemed to me to be a good experience. Perhaps some of the graduates may not feel the same but all went well. I snuck in my running/walking prior to the service so the odds would be better for me to stay awake. There were lots of proud parents and relatives gathered there. We sang, prayed and listened for over an hour just in time for refreshments. But I had to move on to the next item on my calendar.

You may not know if you fell upon this blog that we are searching for someone to be our music minister. Ours left in November after 14 years of service. The fact that we are looking for someone part time makes the effort even more difficult. The fact that we are Baptist means that we want someone now! We had an interview with a prospect today. He is a good guy to be sure. No, I can't say much more than that about our visit together. Our group of people who are working on this is a wonderful bunch of people. This is probably the first experience of this sort for some of them. I can say publicly that I could not be prouder of a committee. Our church can be proud of them also. We will know more over the next few days especially since next Sunday is a holiday. But there is one lesson already to be learned from what we are doing. It is a difficult one to learn no matter the occasion.

Patience is a word used to describe what we want in our attitudes. It is not one of the attributes we claim to possess very often. To me, this word does not mean that we just wait around for something to happen. We can do that without really being patient. This word seems to indicate that we are waiting on God to do something in His time and for His purpose. We are not just sitting idly by for some nebulous something out in the cosmos. We live our life with true hope as our life is woven together with the life of God. Patience means we are still engaged with God even if we have not received what we expect. It demands we discover a quiet contentment in God no matter how He appears to act. It calls for us to continue developing trust in Him even it appears He is doing nothing.

We have some wonderful people helping us in music ministry now. Our song leader does a grand job and continues to get better each week. I can see the growth from the beginning even until now. We have a terrific lady who works with our choir. She put together the Easter program which was a marvelous collection of songs. We have people playing the instruments who speak to us in music even without words. Still, it would be good to know the who of God's plan for our congregation. To be patient in this means we learn to listen to God in the music as much as our concern about who is in charge. We tend to look to men or women a little more than we look to God. Now this is totally natural for us as human beings. It seems to be a key ingredient of our DNA. This may fall into the category of not being right or wrong, it just is what it is. So what should we be doing?

We can learn patience in these days. We can truly trust God with our whole heart to accomplish His will in His time. Yes, we can actually grow during the days of waiting. Is it that God waits for a particular individual to use or can He now speak to us directly? Again, do not think that these types of circumstances do not pull at my heart. The need is a constant focus of my own praying. But do we have to wait for God to guide, teach, or affect our walk with Him until a position is filled? Let's try opening our heart to God no matter what the moment brings. Let's ask Him to prepare us for His timing when He answers. Let's grow spiritually as we interact with God every single day. Let's discover patience is another word for noticing what God is doing in small ways until He unloads with the big.

Bro. Trey