It was Annual Conference in the Western NC Conference last week. It's the one Sunday in the year that I offer the Sunday's message. I chose the sermon title from words that Mom began to say to us in her last months … “I Loved You First”. My brother said, “Anna, please don’t ask me to be there. I just can’t with that sermon title.” I was OK with that.
Then I found out that the first hymn would be “Blessed Assurance”. I sang that to Mom the Saturday before she passed away. Topping that was the song that our guest soloist would be singing .. “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”. That was the first song that Mom sang to my brother when he was born. I shared the song selections with him. He yelled (well, as much as one can "yell" in a text), “How are YOU going to get through the service?” I told him that I would be OK. He chose to worship in Charlotte at Myers Park UMC instead.
I found out that the liturgist for the morning was Duncan McCall (who was a pallbearer at Mom’s service, I might add). I once again texted my brother and said, “You won’t believe this ….” His response was, in all seriousness, “Anna, YOU need to call in sick.”
No, I didn’t call in sick. And I made it through the hour. The fullness of voices coming from visitors and our congregation that morning wrapped me up in the words of “Blessed Assurance.” The soloist sang “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” in a way that was far beyond a mom-rendition. And the liturgist read the scriptures with the confidence of Paul’s words.
And no, I didn’t select the music or choose the liturgist. It was an amazing morning of worship … pretty much God-planned, don’t you think?
“Filled with His goodness, lost in His love …. This is my story, this is my song!”
