God surprised us this past weekend ... one that made us stop in our tracks long enough to muse over the psalmist's words, "To everything there is a season...."
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It all began Friday in Palm Springs at the Marriott Hotel when the four of us celebrated sister-in-law Claire's birthday. My brother Dennis and Claire were visiting from Missouri so we piled into their hot rod red rental car and drove down into Coachella Valley and sat by the lake decorated with bursting fountains and yellow umbrellas.
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Later that day and Sunday afternoon, I joined my neighbors in our Sun Lakes Chorale Spring Concert ... minus Don. He had practiced with the rest of the 130 plus members for the past four months but the previous Tuesday's medical procedure changed everything. Don had a biopsy of his thyroid (no results back yet) and in the process of the radiologist sticking his biopsy needle through his vocal chords repeatedly to get a piece of a sneaky nodule, Don soon found he couldn't sing without pain and the doctor ordered Don to cease singing. You have to understand that such an order was kin to asking Don to stop breathing as he just loves to sing and was looking forward to this big weekend. We left the dress rehearsal that day before with a great deal of sadness.
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Later that day and Sunday afternoon, I joined my neighbors in our Sun Lakes Chorale Spring Concert ... minus Don. He had practiced with the rest of the 130 plus members for the past four months but the previous Tuesday's medical procedure changed everything. Don had a biopsy of his thyroid (no results back yet) and in the process of the radiologist sticking his biopsy needle through his vocal chords repeatedly to get a piece of a sneaky nodule, Don soon found he couldn't sing without pain and the doctor ordered Don to cease singing. You have to understand that such an order was kin to asking Don to stop breathing as he just loves to sing and was looking forward to this big weekend. We left the dress rehearsal that day before with a great deal of sadness.
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I had expected to be overwhelmed with activity this weekend but things had changed so remarkably I was in a daze. I felt like I was on an alien plantet, not having Don singing in either the chorale or with men's chorus > www.hisvoicenews.blogspot.com/
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The days unfolded with an unfamiliar texture and sound. For me it was lonely to sing by myself, even in a big crowd. I also missed watching Don in the midst of the men's chorus!
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The days unfolded with an unfamiliar texture and sound. For me it was lonely to sing by myself, even in a big crowd. I also missed watching Don in the midst of the men's chorus!
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Little by little God's voice spoke got through to me, reminding me that I still had a lot to be thankful for. As it says in Ecclesiastes, there is time for everything and for Don it was a time to stop singing and join the ranks of the listeners - those people we sing for. It was time not to bless others but be blessed, by listening. I realize it is no small thing to be able to hear as I remember our dear friend Charles who has lost his hearing enough to no longer enjoy music. So I knew that being a listener was something special, too - for Don and me.
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On Don's second listening day, we joined the visitor's lunch after the Loma Linda University Church worship service and met two of the nicest people - Aunt Esther and her niece. Aunt Esther is a true octogenarian having recently celebrated her 95th birthday. She saved a seat at our table for her niece Carol who is a nurse in the Proton Center of Loma Linda University Medical Center. You can see the six of us above - Aunt Esther, as everyone knows her, is the one sitting down - doesn't she look lovely!
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The last picture is special to us as it is a rare sighting of our former pastor in Georgia. We found Mike and his wife Sondra just visiting outside the Men's Festival of Music. They had also been listeners at the festival, though Mike certainly would hae enjoyed singing as he has a great singing voice. Last year, Pastor Mike had an emergency heart bypass operation that literally saved his life. So just seeing him looking happy and healthy was no small blessing. He has a thought-provoking website called Grace Notes with many of his sermons from the Ontario, California Adventist Church in Ontario, California, check it out > http://mikeleno.net/
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The weekend obviously didn't resemble anything I had expected ... but I am grateful to have been surprised and I did enjoy listening with those I love!
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On Don's second listening day, we joined the visitor's lunch after the Loma Linda University Church worship service and met two of the nicest people - Aunt Esther and her niece. Aunt Esther is a true octogenarian having recently celebrated her 95th birthday. She saved a seat at our table for her niece Carol who is a nurse in the Proton Center of Loma Linda University Medical Center. You can see the six of us above - Aunt Esther, as everyone knows her, is the one sitting down - doesn't she look lovely!
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The last picture is special to us as it is a rare sighting of our former pastor in Georgia. We found Mike and his wife Sondra just visiting outside the Men's Festival of Music. They had also been listeners at the festival, though Mike certainly would hae enjoyed singing as he has a great singing voice. Last year, Pastor Mike had an emergency heart bypass operation that literally saved his life. So just seeing him looking happy and healthy was no small blessing. He has a thought-provoking website called Grace Notes with many of his sermons from the Ontario, California Adventist Church in Ontario, California, check it out > http://mikeleno.net/
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The weekend obviously didn't resemble anything I had expected ... but I am grateful to have been surprised and I did enjoy listening with those I love!
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NOTE: Be sure to double click on the pictures above to see them better
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