Mysterious Ways

So I had been noticing a pattern over the past few weeks at the church we go to. Or maybe less of a pattern and more of a missing piece. You see, when I left for the summer/rest of the year last May, there was always a guitarist (or two), two vocals, a piano, sometimes drums and a bass to lead music. When I got back a month or so ago, there were much fewer instruments on the stage. I thought it was nice, though, to just have a guitar and some voices. Maybe they were going for a more acoustic theme that week. Less distraction by lots of people "performing" and more time to focus on lyrics, etc. I liked it. But, my great detective skills lead me to notice that they were kind of only going for this new acoustic/coffee house feel now, which lead me to think that perhaps they were running low on musicians, specifically pianists.

Now, I don't claim to be any kind of wonder-player or anything, but I do enjoy fiddling around and improvising to chords every now and then. And, while I was home last semester, I very much enjoyed being able to share my enjoyment of music with my church.

Last week I was feeling well under the weather so I decided that was not the time to ask if I could help out, so I figured I would give it another 7 days just one more time. Maybe the pianist was on a really long vacation or maternity leave or something...? Well, I think it's safe to that the pianist isn't coming back because today was another coffee house music Sunday. And while I actually really love this kind of simple worship, I did feel a little tugging at my heart to go ask the leader if they might, hypothetically speaking, at some point in time, in the unlikely event that the pianist was really out of the picture, maybe sometime need someone to play the keys. So I did. I've never really done anything like that before. I just walked up to him after the service, stuck my hand out and said: "Hi. I'm Christine." He looked pretty surprised, which I suppose was to be expected, but then seemed to have a boulder lifted off him when I asked: "I was jsut wondering if you guys needed a pianist..." His face jumped into a great big smile and he said: "YES!"

So, long story short, I think I might be their pianist if all works out! And, my lovely apartment mate has been roped in to play the violin as well, so it will be great!

You know, it's funny how these things work out. Having this opportunity right in front of me is literally an answer to prayer. Not my prayer, necessarily, but one prayer for me by my pastor at home. When the semester was winding down, he asked me if there was any place over here that I could get musically involved at. I told him that, no, Gordon already would have their worship bands all set up and that the church I go to is all set... Secretly, I was relieved that there didn't seem to be a place for me to play in front of people. But over the next few meetings with him, my pastor continued to pray that I would find a place where I could get involved and share my love for music. Well, I should have known better than to doubt his praying skills, because here that opportunity is. The door was open when I got back and I think I just stepped through it this morning. And it's good. :)