Interesting Day

Yesterday was a very interesting day for me. It was a good day but there were so many strange things that happened. The best part was that through it all I was in a great mood. I couldn't help laughing at something or other for most of the day. It wasn't that there was anything particularly funny about what was going on, I just had such inner joy that nothing seemed to bother me. I'll tell you about the day and then maybe you'll understand why laughing at anything was unusual. The first part of the day wasn't bad at all. Work was good and there was nothing too unusual that occurred. After work I went to watch my nephew for a couple of hours before I had to play for my children's choir. I had promised the guys at work I would bring them lunch today and I figured I could get it ready while I was watching my nephew. That's when things got interesting. I couldn't seem to find anything I was looking for and when I would come up with an alternative, that seemed to have something wrong with it. I didn't get frustrated, I just kept working to try and finish. While I was trying to cook the phone kept ringing. First it was my sister saying she wouldn't be able to come back and I would need to keep my nephew for the rest of the afternoon. Then it was someone from the choir informing me that one of the parents who usually transports the kids was at jury duty and would not be able to take the kids. That meant I would need to take some of them with me. This created some space problems as we would also need to carry the keyboard and the equipment that went with it. Meanwhile my nephew was in the living room flinging strings everywhere. He then moved to the area by my front door and proceeded to created a web from the front door entrance to the living room by tying strings from doorknobs and other bits of furniture (I often ask myself why my mother taught him to tie slip knots!). He thought this was great, I didn't agree. I finished up in the kitchen and cleaned everything up and then my nephew wanted to go for a walk. I agreed to take him but once we got outside I was sorry I had. It was so hot and humid! I was pouring sweat, my clothes were sticking to me, and I was supposed to be at a performance in an hour. That walk didn't last long. When we got home we picked everything up and left to go pick up the kids. We arrived at our destination and proceeded to unload the equipment and things really got interesting. Because of the tight space the keyboard had been taken out of its case and carried with no protection. As one of the guys was pulling something out of the trunk he managed to catch two keys and rip them off the keyboard. Fortunately this can be fixed. Unfortunately the two keys were Middle C and the B right below it. If you know anything about playing the piano you know that Middle C is one of the most, if not the most important key on the keyboard. Needless to say, there was a bit of a panic over what to do. We had to have the keyboard to perform, but how was I going to play it with two keys missing???? My mom asked if it was possible, I didn't think it was, but we set it up anyway and decided to give it a try. Now, if two missing keys was the only mishap that would have been alright, but there was more to come. We set everything up and plugged everything in and I started to play (very interesting when you are trying to avoid notes that are at a central point on the keyboard) and I noticed that the pedal was not working. It wasn't that it wasn't sustaining; it was continuously sustaining! I didn't even have to push it; it held the notes without my even touching it! Basically, it was operating backwards. If I held it down it cut the sound of the note and if I released it it held the sound of the note. So, here I am trying to play a keyboard with missing keys and trying to use a pedal the opposite of how it was intended to be used. LOL!!!! I laughed through the entire performance. It was crazy! God is so good, though, and it didn't sound too terrible. Afterwards the kids tried to console me. "Don't worry. It actually didn't sound much different than it usually does." I know they were meaning that in a complimentary way ;]. Ya, my afternoon was definitely interesting!
That rest of the day was much more tame compared to that, but it still had its quirks. Really, though, the best part of the day was last night. My music group sang at a homeless shelter we go to twice a month. The majority of the people there are right off the street and they are some of the hardest people you will ever work with. They are the ones you see begging for money on the side of the road or drunk out of their minds lying on a bus stop bench. Usually when we sing there it is hard to get the men to join in the singing, even the ones that call themselves Christians, but last night something happened. Those men were joining in the singing and clapping and they were worshiping, something you never see. It really felt like we were in church. Everyone in my group had so much joy, which wouldn't be amazing except that we are all super busy and by the time we get to the mission we are usually so worn out and in need something supernatural to revive us and give us energy to sing and play. Truly, the joy of the Lord was our strength. Last night it was like there was electricity in the building. The men were standing and raising their hands and just praising God. It was incredible to see and to experience. There was one song that we did that really had a huge impact. We've sung it there at least a hundred times, but this time was different. It's a slow ballad that says, "Come as you are, open hands, broken hearts, come as you are. Prodigal daughters and sons, everyone, all will be forgiven no matter what you've done. And when the Father sees you, He will run, no matter how far, come as you are." It's a beautiful song but not something you would expect hardened street people to respond to. They did last night. When we were done singing it I looked at the audience and men were standing with their hands stretched towards heaven just crying out to God. That may not be an unusual sight if you were in a normal church on a Sunday morning, but at this place, you don't ever see that happen. The whole service was just amazing. I have never felt the presence of the Holy Spirit like that in that mission, but God was there and it was so good.
So, ya, my day was interesting to say the least, but it was so good. The joy I started out with in the morning stayed with me throughout out the day. Even on the way home as my friends and I talked about our day I couldn't help laughing as I recounted the day's events. I was still so full of happiness and joy. I wish I had more days like that and maybe I will. I have found that the more I let God into my life, the more I yield to Him, the more I experience His presence and His working in my day to day life, and that is what makes for interesting days that are filled with joy.