'Tis the Season by Susan L.

  I think most of us, if we feel a bug coming on prior to the Christmas busy-ness, tend to fight it off or at least delay it. The extra adrenaline caused by rushing here, rushing there, seems to make us stronger. But it can't last forever. It seems each January is filled with a symphony of coughing, hacking, sneezing, and nose blowing no matter where you go. I don't know if it's because there's a level of burnout so our immune systems aren't as strong as they could be or if it's simply because there's that many more germs out there this time of year.
  Worship team practice had a counter melody of barks and gasps. At least half of us had some sort of bug. I'd started out okay but after playing for a while, my lungs decided to finally give in to my own borderline cold. It sure isn't conducive to the deep breathing needed to sustain a note. It might be wise for me to get some cough syrup before church tomorrow.
  Somehow my flute has taken over the crucial, lead guitar parts seeing as the lead guitar player is away at school. Missing the service would leave a huge gap in the music. No stress there...well, maybe a little.
  This is not what I had expected when I joined the team, to be "up front". (Ha! Another pesky expectation!) This is wa-a-ay outside my comfort zone! Yes, I play up front but this is a really "up front!
  God is so good. Whenever He gives us more than we can handle, He's right there beside us to encourage us and support us. Not knowing what the future will bring might be a good thing.
  After I had left my marriage, my home was a room in a basement. Going for drives was a way to get away for a bit. Often I'd park on some out-of-the-way side road to have some quiet prayer time and to enjoy the scenery. There was one time, a winding road disappeared behind a hill and into a forest. I could see the other end off in the distance before it, too, vanished behind a hill.
  The Lord helped me realize that life is a lot like that, too.
  I may not always be able to see the path the Lord has chosen but, like the road, even if I can't see it, I know it is there. He is the One who will faithfully guide me over the hills and though the woods or up front at church. He is the One who has me exactly where I am meant to be.
  "For our citizenship is in heaven from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself." Phil 3:20-21