An amazing moment of wonder and contrition for me one afternoon meeting for worship- the vocal ministry was sloppy, the kind of dithering in therapy of the seeker refusing to see the obvious. This had put me in a curmudgeonly mood thinking, as Bill Kreidler often would reflect, if you can’t improve on the silence, then hush! Hush being a more polite form than what he’d say. And then from across the very large room comes a message from a mouth unable to form words to be easily understood. It’s a sort of sing-songy rhythm but no words could I distinguish. And for a moment I am thinking in my curmudgeonly state how pathetic to not be able to speak. But lo, the sound is vaguely familiar and then a woman sitting in front of me begins to hum the old hymn “There is a Balm in Gilead”. I open my eyes and raise my head to see who is giving this message and there in a large raised wheelchair without use of limbs is a small old woman with short silver hair who is glowing a radiant Light singing this blessing for all who are in pain and lost- there is a balm in Gilead and please take this comfort I remind you of. Well, it was the kind of stunning that makes one teary and humbled and is unforgettable.
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