Monday 14 October 2019

Mean what you pray

I often wonder how many of us mean what we say when we recite the Lord's Prayer and say, "Thy will be done!"

Do we really mean it? Or do we mean, "Thy will be done as long as it is what I want"?

Let me explain.

I will not name Helen Lowry in order to protect her identity. She has a singing voice which sounds like a pregnant hyena giving birth on a bed of nails. But this has not stopped her from joining the church choir and leading it solo on many occasions.

In my view, it is plain to see that it is not God's will that she should scream and screech every Sunday to the detriment of the congregation's ear drums, and the total discomfort of our Lord in Heaven and His host of angels and saints.

Yet this has not deterred Helen one iota. She continues to sing solo from the Psalms every Sunday before we read from the Gospel.

She is not accompanied by either the organ or any musical instrument. She squawks through the psalms for a good ten minutes. I never cease to wonder how she knows what tune to sing to. Was there a musical score discovered in old parchments at the time they found the psalms?

When she sings you can hear the birds outside leaving the trees and fleeing to a safe distance miles away. The leaves on the trees dry out and curl as they fall one by one to the ground accompanied by all kinds of flying insects as they crash in their final death throes.

I sit there in church clenching my teeth wondering whether this is what it will be like at the end of times when the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse come to end it all and take us to another life ... except of course for Helen Lowry who will be spared and will continue to shriek into eternity.

Let Helen be a lesson to you. Before you do something in life, ask: Is it really God's will that I do this?

20 comments:

  1. I feel for you and the rest of the congregation Victor.
    You should all do onto others and invest in earplugs and then the whole congregation can find peace here on Earth and at church.

    God's Blessings ✝

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    Replies
    1. Earplugs might give us peace on earth; but what if Helen ends up in Heaven too?

      God bless you Jan.

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    2. I am sure that God will ask her, in his gentle way of course, to reflect in silence 💮

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    3. I hope you are right, Jan.

      God bless you my friend.

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  2. Wow. :) Thanks! And happy Monday!

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    Replies
    1. Thank YOU so much for your continued support, Brian.

      God bless you and yours. Have a great day.

      Delete
  3. Now I'm wondering if Helen would consider taking a holiday over here … perchance to rid Alabama of its mosquito population.

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    Replies
    1. Good idea, Mevely ... Helen is a good insect repellent. Also a human irritant. I'll never look at a pregnant hyena the same again.

      God bless you.

      Delete
  4. Sounds like Helen gets on everyone's nerve. she probably thinks she sings well, maybe someone ought to tell her the truth and get a guest singer each week. :)
    Have a wonderful week, Victor.

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    Replies
    1. The problem Bill is that, like in many churches, people volunteer for certain jobs and they do them ad-infinitum. Always the same people who make the tea and biscuits, the same people in the choir, who run the St Vincent de Paul Society, the Catenians, and so on. It's difficult for new people to join in what is often a closed club. And they call it Christianity!

      God bless.

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  5. Great lesson here, Victor! We should always pray that God's will, not ours, be done, and really mean it.
    Blessings, my friend!

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    Replies
    1. Amen Martha. I wish Helen knew she is not meant to sing.

      God bless.

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  6. What is in her heart while she sings may be pleasing to God. Perhaps she should please God by singing at home in the shower.

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    1. Good point, JoeH. I suspect no one has the courage to suggest she gives someone else a chance as choir leader.

      God bless.

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  7. I don't know how many times, I've prayed and thanked God when He DID NOT answer it to my liking. I'm glad His will was done and not mine!!

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  8. Better watch your back, Victor, Helen is going to get you!
    Blessings!

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    Replies
    1. She'll get me with a sharp note no doubt. And I'll B Flat Minor!

      God bless, Lulu.

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  9. You will be glad to know that my husband sings in the choir (he has a great voice and has been professionally trained) and i help the choir by not singing!

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    Replies
    1. It is good that your husband shares his talent for the glory of God.

      God bless you both, Mimi, and your family.

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