November 12 – “Encouragement and embarrassment”

I have been encouraged.  A visitor in church Sunday let me know in an unusual way that they had been to Seaside once before.  It had been several years, but the wife still remembered the Visual Verse we did the day they were there.  She even quoted some of it to me.  She said she keeps it right on her desk and regularly reviews it.  Visual Verses are the pictorial memory tools I often create to help with Scripture memory.  Each one is essentially an expanded rebus, with pictures – wild and crazy pictures – drawn to represent key words or ideas in the Scripture passage.  They are lots of fun to create, and even more fun to present as a challenge to discover which passage it is and where it is found.  It was very encouraging to have someone thank me for encouraging them to learn in a creative, new way. 

And on the other hand, speaking of church Sunday, something else happened that was somewhat unusual.  While I was doing the teaching one of my hearing aid batteries died.  That in itself is not unusual, except for the annoying beeping that it does to alert me to the impending crash of the system.  Fortunately I was able finish out the teaching segment and get over to my briefcase while we were praying.  That’s where my extra batteries are stored.  Unfortunately I apparently inadvertently brushed against my phone, which was also in there.  Now my phone was already set to silent, and I don’t understand what actually happened because I am not tech-savvy enough, but just as we were finishing up the last strains of a soft worship song, and just before we were scheduled to do a congregational reading of the Call to Worship, my phone started playing a song all on its own.  Out of nowhere.  I have to admit that it was somewhat disconcerting.  Certainly unexpected.  I didn’t recognize the song at first, either, so I wasn’t sure where it was coming from.  I suppose I could have played it off as something that was happening on purpose when it finally hit me what song was playing: “Ah, Lord God, Thou hast made the heavens and he earth by thy great power.”  It would have been a perfect lead-in to the Call to Worship.  Of course then I would have had to figure out a smooth way to turn it off before the next song, and I didn’t even know how it came on in the first place.  I hit the automatic shutoff button.  At least I thought it was the automatic shut-off button.  I guess it only works when it’s a phone call coming through.  I double checked the silent mode switch, and it was still set to silent.  Still playing the song.  After a few very long moments during which pretty much everyone in the building had turned toward the new sounds, I confessed that it was my phone, fumbled with the controls, and finally got it to shut off.  Fortunately, Seasiders are a forgiving bunch.  They chose to comment on the fact that the song was appropriate to what we were doing rather than to razz me about my lack of control over the technology entrusted to my care.  Gotta be thankful for that. 

Psalms 119:10-11 says, “I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.  I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Father, thank you for your word and for forgiveness.  That’s two things I don’t ever want to be without.  Amen.