I started this day at my piano, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. Early in the morning my song shall rise to Thee…!”

Pete was not in the house, so I turned the volume up high and was soon lost in the soul-bliss of beautiful sound. I learned to play as a teenager but when my dad became pastor of the Central Tabernacle in Johannesburg, I was introduced to a proper pipe organ for the first time. Lessons were expensive, so I learned the mysteries of multiple keyboards and an array of pedals by closely observing our very capable organist and asking many questions. I had easy access to the church, and it wasn’t long before my itching hands and feet were put to work. I loved those hours alone in the sanctuary, adapting my touch to organ keys, trying every keyboard and pedal, mixing sounds in as many ways as I could imagine until I could open the stops enough to make the windows rattle 😊.

As my skill grew, word got around that I was available for special occasions and I made a discovery – what had merely been self-indulgent, private fun, needed hard work for public exposure!  If a wedding was coming up, the difficult Mendelssohn’s Wedding March with its huge chords was my challenge; funerals were expected to be solemn and dignified without being mournful and sad. Slowly but surely my repertoire expanded. I learned early on that variety truly IS the spice of life and I like the taste of it, but I also learned if I wanted to be useful, if I wanted to do the job, I had to be versatile, work hard and be unafraid of challenge.

Little did I know that these lessons were designed by God, equipping me for what was to come in the ministry. Often, especially in our CfaN experience, situations have arisen that felt like riding a rolling log down a rapidly flowing river, and the only way to stay upright was to change foot – rapidly! It certainly is true that God never changes and his gifts to us and calling on us, are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). But in a world spinning faster and faster into its future, the way we carry out that call is always a challenge, one that changes almost daily sometimes, calling on every bit of versatility and flexibility we possess if we are to ‘pull out all the stops’. 😊

I loved the Youth for Christ rallies of my teenage years and closely identified with our slogan at that time: “Geared to the times…Anchored to the rock.”  God’s Principles are changeless, and his Word is always our plumbline. We hold onto the truth of the Gospel as though our lives depend on it – which they do – and if we are wise, we will continually examine how well we communicate it.

This requires thoughtful curiosity about the harvest field we are called to. Then we pray for Holy Spirit strategy which often requires us to ‘change feet’ on a rolling log! If you want a predictable life, do NOT answer the call. In fact, our Lord Jesus said: The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Holy Spirit-led unpredictability is the ultimate challenge and will always catch the enemy by surprise!

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