IrishOboe

Since both my sister and my mother have posted about their Sunday adventures I figured I’d add mine to the bunch.

Our Lord is amazing.  No, it’s not just that.  He has a sense of humor.  Sometimes he sends a little blessing to make you realize all our worries about details count for nothing compared to what he can do.  Maybe you call it coincidence, but I think God brings people together on purpose in odd ways and looks down with a great big smile when we’re surprised that he can and does act in our lives.

It started like a normal Sunday only I had a bit of the jitters because I was playing while on In Christ Alone.  Performing doesn’t bother me, but I’d planned to improvise, and I’m not experienced in it so that makes me nervous.  After a brief, but good rehearsal we entered another glorious morning of worship and fellowship with God and his children.  I love Sundays.  I love church.  I don’t love having to sit on my hands so I don’t freak people out by jumping up and down and waving my arms to the Lord.  It used to scare me, so I try not to scare others.

In the greeting period (I still wish churches would forget the fancy terms and just say the peace!) I met a Swiss couple I hadn’t seen before but apparently didn’t make myself clear as to my situation in Switzerland.  The congregation was asked to introduce visitors and we were introduced to a family visiting in order for their daughter to audition at the Musik Akademie.  Of course I planned to make a beeline to them after the service, but then to my surprise the dear lady I’d just met stood up to introduce me thinking I was a visitor!  I felt terrible for her and another member sitting nearby gently corrected her, but asked me to stand up and share the news with the congregation that I’d just divulged to him during the peace!  How embarrassing, and now everyone is expecting me to come back to Basel.  They better remember to pray, because I do want to come back.  To make things more akward the reading of the day was scheduled right after the peace and it just so happened that I was scheduled to read that day!  The leader did a good job of relieving the potential tension by noting that to show how quickly newcomers are integrated into the fellowship the reading for today will be done by Janet Wightman.  The church had a good laugh.

The excuse given for having me read again so soon was that I’m good at reading long passages.  I think having just done a long reading a few weeks earlier is an excuse for reading less often, but lucky for me I don’t mind, and actually enjoy reading in church.  I didn’t realize quite how long Daniel 4 was until I was up there, and up there, and up there, then was only half way through.  Thankfully I managed to avoid the slip I often make, by calling the magicians musicians.

After another 45 minute sermon I could pay attention to and learn from (I’m not abandoning you, oh my Episcopalian friends) I stood up to play In Christ Alone.  It’s a great song, but hard to sing, so I was grateful that I was asked to play.  Consequently I was no preparing myself emotionally to sing the words and was caught off guard when the leader read the last verse and I burst into tears saving myself the embarrassment of observation by turning my back on the congregation.  This is why.  Isaac’s first cry was just before his death.  That makes “From life's first cry to final breath” difficult to sing, though it makes the whole verse a lovely and comforting one.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

I recovered and played well enough and enjoyed it even though I was sharp.  I thought I’d brought my tunable whistle to Basel, but I guess not.

Talking with the family (I won’t divulge their name yet since I don’t have permission) after the service was a delight.  I clicked with their daughter M who is taking the audition on flute.  Suspicions that they had homeschooled came to mind early, but didn’t come out until I pried it out of them later.  I was happy to be able to help them with questions, though I don’t know how the school really works either.  Among the random things we have in common are enjoying theological discussion, choosing not to practice on Sunday, and of course homeschooling which opens up a whole other realm.  Also fascinating is that she’s interested in Renaissance and Baroque dance and I invited her to my classes.  I love it when God sends a random person in my life to help me, but it’s also very fun to be that random person to help another!  It doesn’t sound as interesting as I write it, but I must say after being in a place where homeschooling is all but unheard of it was nice to be in understanding company again.  Most of the hang-out-after-church crowd was away, but the family was planning on a picnic so Stephan and I crashed it.  It was lovely and sunny and cool and interesting.  I could tell they were guarding their words in sensitivity to us that we might not find them too strange.  That’s why I had to pry the homeschooling out.  I know they have more interesting ideas and beliefs but it’s such a pity that in this world of embracing ‘diversity’ people who are really quite different feel unable to show it because people often don’t know how to react to someone who thinks differently.  I’ll admit they seem odd, but that just means I haven’t thought outside the box in certain areas yet!  It would be fun if they decide to move to Basel.  Anyway, once I pried out of them that they were homeschooled (you know how we can identify each other - we're unsocialized-lol) we mouthed off together about the interesting treatment we’ve received, especially pertaining to socialization.  It was insensitive of me to enjoy the camaraderie without thinking of how Stephan might feel, even though I know he's not comfortable with homeschooling yet.  I’ve been careful not to say too much about it to those unfamiliar, but I forgot myself in this context and became rather animated.  Imagine that. ;)  Thankfully he expressed his feelings and I apologized and offered to discuss his concerns over coffee right then as the family had to get to a concert anyway.  Oh, how self-sacrificial of me to be willing to talk about homeschooling . . . ;)  I’m very out of practice talking about homeschooling to someone unfamiliar with it.  I haven’t had someone interested enough in it to actually listen in a long time.  I think I did a better job expressing myself in German for class!  He was nice about it and I don’t think I scared him too badly.  Now I hope his comment to this post makes more sense.