My New Hat

Wife, mother, teacher, housekeeper, cook, nurse, etc. We all wear many hats. I have had times in my life that I have worn too many hats and got myself off balance trying to keep all of them on. Coming here to Jerusalem I was stripped of many of my hats and left with only the important ones. I am very glad for that as my life is becoming much more balanced and manageable. Well, recently I have added a new hat to my "collection". This is a small, funny looking hat that I'm sure will not add much to my load. Our church does not have anyone to play the piano. I don't think anyone there can read music at all, so the songs are all sung from memory of what they should sound like. Some people have better memories than others, so this can lead to a very strange sounding hymn. There have been a couple of times that I have had to literally hide my face so they couldn't see me snicker. Keep in mind, I am in no way laughing at them; they are definitely making a joyful noise unto the Lord, but it is a little amusing. I decided to finally do something to help. I took a deep breath, turned my back on my fear, and offered to play the piano for them. Why is this scary, you may ask? Well, I don't know how to play the piano! Okay, I can play with one hand, but in most churches that doesn't qualify you as knowing how to play. But, in this small church of 12 people (4 of those being my own family) I figured I didn't have too much to fear. They were grateful for having someone to play the tune for them, and they didn't even mind the many mistakes I made. Lately, I have been trying to learn to not worry about what other people think of me, as long as the Lord is happy. This is definitely helping me to work on that one! So, for now anyway, my new hat is that of Church Pianist. Just don't be expecting to hear me play at a church near you!!