Day Ten

I am doing a Graitude Challenge on Facebook. As I began writing today's, it started to get a little long. I decided I would move it over here. 

GRATITUDE CHALLENGE, Day 10 (11/10): My heart fills to bursting with gratitude, when I hear my husband preach. And, I am reminded of a time when his preaching was the last thing I wanted.

Once upon a time, when Hannah was just born, my Mother prayed for my husband and prophesied over him. She told him the Lord was going to use him to minister the Word of God. 

Now, you need to understand that I did not want to be in ministry. I grew-up a minister's kid. I knew what that life was like, and I wanted nothing to do with it. The ministry life is hard. I married Doug thinking I was marrying a normal guy who would make a decent living and provide a stable and secure life for me and our children. Financial security was what I wanted most.

So, when my Mother spoke that prophecy over my husband, I wasn't exactly excited. I wanted Doug to obey and serve God, and if that included ministering the Word, that was fine, but as a layman. On Sundays and Wednesdays. Not as a career. After all, he was a saxophone player. A musician; not a preacher. Let him play on the worship band; teach Sunday school. Wasn't that enough?

The Lord is funny, isn't He? He really does give us our heart's desire. Our head just doesn't clue-in sometimes. Silly us, we think we know what's best. I'm so glad the Lord overrules our plans, and protects us from our best intentions.

The Saxophone Player at the prison chapel recently, where he is the Protestant Chaplain. Doug is also the Director of New Brothers Fellowship, which is a ministry that serves and supports men post-release.

Financial security? Ha! Who needs it?