One of the big things that God is continuing to work on in my life is my tendency to be stubbornly independent. In the last couple of years God has been revealing to me over and over again my stubborn independence. I'm not talking about the good, healthy, respectable independent. I'm talking about the attitude of "I will do this on my own," "I don't need anyone to do this," -- that kind of independence.
This past weekend I realized that God has blessed me with lots of people who take good care of me. And, I found... it was a blessing.
- While we were traveling, Dawn and I stayed at a hotel that was around the corner from where we had our meetings. Each night someone would have the duty of walking us safely to our place. What a blessing.
- When I stayed at my friend's house and got sick, she so kindly fed me just what I needed... even getting me just the right fruit. What a blessing.
- When I needed to get to a camera shop to unexpectedly replace a piece of equipment... friends took time out of their busy schedule to travel in busy traffic to accompany me to get everything I needed. What a blessing.
- I hopped into an FX this morning to go to church. I was the only one in the FX so I had a nice chat with the driver. When we got to the place where I was going to get off, instead of pulling to the side of the road he made a left turn."Ummm... this is where I'll get off," I reminded him."Yes," the driver replied, "I'll just take you all the way. That way you don't have a hard time walking. I'll just drop you there by the church." What a blessing.
- At church, Nanay Lucy kind of took me under her wing introducing me to pretty much all the ladies in the church. One by one she'd take me over to them and introduce me. And when it was time for me to go, she walked me to the door of the church and gave me the "Now, you be careful," talk.What a blessing.
I don't think that I always resp0nd with such gratitude. So, it gives me hope that I'm finding these as blessings ... I do believe that God is working in me.
Susan continues to surprise us with her ability to take songs from diverse genre, reach deep within her soul, and pour out a fountain of emotion, creating something that captures the song's essence so we hear it new as we listen over and over. She just as adeptly swoons us with a saucy 40's-like bar room ballad "Lilac Wine," then mesmerizes us with haunting yet innocent versions of the 80's new wave classics "Mad World" by Tears for Fears and "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode. She cries with emotion and hope as she pleads with God, "You have to Be There," and dreams of her love's "Return." There's nothing Karaoke about this collection. Susan sings from the heart, with a passion that makes each song new.