I feel like I haven't posted in ages, and I've been home from NH a whole week without writing anything! I haven't even written in my own diary. But life has been so stinkin' busy this past week (or I've been too stinkin' tired) to do anything. I'll try to keep this short cause I need to go to bed so I can get up bright and early and get something done before teaching! But I might ramble, so no promises.
I'm going to work backwords for a change. Tad and June S. were just here for dinner. So nice to see them before they head back to mission work in Thailand tomorrow. Sunday night I played in a symphony concert. The most stressful piece for me was the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story by Bernstein. It's about 15 minutes of non-stop music which goes from wild and woolly dance music (mambo, cha-cha, etc.) to some beautiful lyrical passages. Plus lots of meter changes, key changes, and tempo changes. There's tons of percussion and everybody's busy the whole time. My part wasn't hard, but it was challenging every ounce of concentration to keep counting and know exactly where I was at all times and come in with the right tempo. Anyway, it was fun, but I had sort of a headache afterwards.
Let's see, all during the end of last week I felt like I was fighting a cold. I had really skimped on sleep the week before while travelling, which never bodes well for my health. Then my dad got sick. So I've been praying, taking all sorts of potions, and trying to catch up on sleep, because I really don't need to get sick right now! Chris and I have another concert this Sunday. I'm feeling good today, so my courage is good that I'll stay healthy.
The trip to New Hampshire was great, except for some flying difficulties when traveling there. That wasn't so fun, but we made it. The weather was gorgeous there, with warm sunshine during the days. It was wonderful to catch up with old friends and relatives during the convention at Fairwood, and cousin Penny and I had fun visiting our ancient and failing grandma in the nursing home. She still has some spitfire left in her, though. She enjoyed hearing us sing, but would have a hissy fit if anybody tried to carry on a conversation while she was still talking! "I'm the queen!" she's say. I also enjoyed a couple little visits with Jill and Evan and kiddos. Amazing how much bigger those kids get in between visits! I also visited my grandpa and great-grandparents at the local cemetery. I love those old cemeteries back there! It just thrills me to find stones dating all the way back to the Revolutionary War or before! We just don't have that kind of history here in the Wild Woods of the West.
So, a wonderful time was had by all. On the way home, we changed planes in Detroit. While sitting in the waiting area, I noticed a woman across from me who was in her mid to late 30s, quite overweight, but nicely dressed. She had a particularly needy or vulnerable expression, which caused me to feel some compassion for her and wonder what her past had been like. Well, we boarded the plane, working our way almost to the back of the plane. I wasn't in the same row as my parents. They were in something like 39 and I was 38. As I was approaching the row, I figured out that I was in a window seat. Then I saw her. The same big lady I'd noticed in the waiting area. And she was in the middle seat of my row. I inwardly groaned, because I'd once had an extremely unpleasant experience of sitting next to a fat man whose girth spread liberally into my space and...but I digress. :-) I didn't want to make a big deal of it, so I moved into my spot. Fortunately I'm not too wide, because she requested that we leave the arm rest up. If I kept well to the other edge of the seat, I wouldn't be touching her.
At this point, I should mention that I rarely talk to fellow passengers. I'm not a gregarious conversationalist, and find small talk taxing, especially with strangers. I usually snooze, read, or whatever. And usually, they're content to stay in their shell, too. But I had the strongest sense that this lady had some real needs and I needed to talk to her. She wasn't reading a book or doing anything else, and was open, so it wasn't too hard to talk to her. We exchanged information about where were going, where home was, and various tidbits. Bit by bit I drew her out and just listened, discovering that she was on a second marriage, the wife of an army guy, her 18 year-old daughter had decided to live in Tacoma while her family is in NC, she's Mormon, and has an anxiety disorder (or something like that) and recently found out she's bi-polar. I also gathered she'd had some traumatic event in her youth, and her daughter had also had something traumatic happen which affected her mom.
We didn't have one long conversation, but it was kind of in pieces. I felt the Holy Spirit's urging to do something else I find difficult -- witness to her. But then I'd sort of argue that she was already religious, she seemed nice, and not very open to anything else. And how would I start the conversation right? But then He'd remind that this could be a soul bound for hell, and I must sow the seeds and leave the fruit to Him. Sigh. So I finally upped and asked her how long she'd been a Christian, as I tried tor remember everything about Mormon theology I could, which wasn't much. Not surprisingly, she said she'd been a Christian all her life, and was baptized when she was 8. Hmm...where do I go from here? What makes it difficult is that so much of what they say sounds right! But I know there are some very serious differences. I ended up sharing some of my personal testimony, albeit a little clumsily. It was obvious that she wasn't open to anything different, although she listened. I wish I'd known something more brilliant to say, but I just have to trust that God somehow used me as a listening ear and caring heart to minister grace to her. What I'm trying to learn is that just because someone doesn't instantly convert on the spot as I flawlessly present the gospel (heh heh), that doesn't mean those seeds have been wasted. Whether they land on fertile or hard soil, they need to be sown! God give me boldness to carry the fragrance of Christ to a lost world and be always ready to give a reason for the hope that lies within me!
