The Page Turn

The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies. Psalm 118: 6-7

It was the night of our community's annual Gospel Concert - the night when all of the local area church choirs gather together and sing a concert for the community. I am the accompanist for our Senior Choir and the organist at our church. I look forward to this event very much each year as it is such a wonderful evening of music.

I sat with my fellow choir members that night listening to each choir sing their beautiful anthems. Unfortunately my mind was filled with worry and anxiety over various issues I was dealing with in my life at the time. One of the least of those worries was a page turn in the music that I was having trouble making in the song our choir was planning to sing.

I had practiced the music and the page turn many times, but it was not as smooth as I would have liked it to be. I prayed that God would calm my spirit and help me to enjoy the concert instead of being anxious and worried. Thankfully that prayer was answered. As I continued to listen to the beautiful music around me, I was able to enter into an attitude of worship and started to forget about my problems.

Soon it was time for our choir to sing. I took my place at the piano bench and made sure that the bottom corner of my page of music was folded over a little bit so it would be easier to grab and turn when the time came. The choir director motioned for me to begin playing the song. Then the choir lifted their voices to the music I was playing. I couldn't help but enter into an attitude of worship as I heard the beautiful music fill the sanctuary.

It was soon time for the page turn I was concerned about. But as I was getting ready to lift my left hand from the piano keys to turn the page of music, I noticed that the page was starting to turn on it's own. I watched in amazement as the page continued to turn the whole way and then lay flat! It was like another piano player or a person who could read music was sitting on the bench next to me and knew the exact moment when to turn the page!

The music page stayed there perfectly and my hand never had to leave the keyboard. In all my years of playing the piano and organ, I had never seen anything like this before! Sure, there are times when your music blows in a breeze, but never as smoothly as this. There was no doubt in my mind that the hand of God, or one of His angels turned my page of music for me that night.

I started to cry as I continued to play the music. I felt overwhelmed by God's presence and love. He was reassuring me that He was right there with me in a way that I, a piano player, would definitely recognize. It reminded me that God is concerned about even the little things in my life; things as insignificant as a page turn. And if He is concerned about the little things, I know that He must be even more concerned about the big things!

I silently prayed a prayer of thanks for this special moment I was allowed to experience. I completely forgot about all the worries and anxieties I had on my mind at the beginning of the concert. I knew that God was with me and that everything would be alright.

Others may say that my page of music turned because there were ceiling fans on in the church that night. But I know differently. That was the only page of music that turned on its own all night and it turned smoothly and gently at the exact moment I needed it to. It was not a coincidence.

Little did I know at the time, but God was preparing me for some difficult days ahead. Two months later, I had a seizure and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. As I walked through that difficult journey which involved three different hospital stays, major brain surgery, and months off work, I knew I was not alone. The same God that was there with me at the concert to turn my page of music was with me through my brain surgery and recovery too. And I know that He will be there always.

Thank you, Lord for your help in our time of need whether it be for big things or small things. May we never forget that you are always with us and that you care about even the minor details of our lives - whether it be the number of hairs on our heads or a difficult page turn. May we be mindful of your great love for us and be thankful.

Beth Wehr

Insurance vs. Assurance

Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31 (NIV)

It was that time of year again - time to meet with our insurance agent to review our life insurance policies. Part of me always dreads this appointment. For one thing, you know they're going to try and sell you more insurance. Secondly, the mere fact that you are meeting with them to discuss the issue of your death and how important it will be for the needs of your family to be met when that occurs can be depressing and unpleasant to think about.

But having life insurance is a wise and responsible thing to do. It gives you a sense of assurance. It's not a question of whether or not you should have life insurance, but more a question of how much life insurance you should have. When is enough, enough?

Of course you want to have enough life insurance to cover any debts you might have. In the case of your untimely death, you wouldn't want your spouse worrying about possibly losing the house too! So that is why the insurance agent might sometimes recommend getting a term life insurance policy in addition to your whole life policy. A term life insurance policy can be purchased on a temporary basis for a certain number of years to help cover a specific debt you might have. For example, if you still have fifteen years to pay off your mortgage, it might be wise to get a term life insurance policy for fifteen years to make sure that that debt would be covered if you would die within those fifteen years. This then leaves the other life insurance policy money to help the family with other living expenses, etc.

As my husband and I met with our insurance agent recently to discuss such issues as these, a sense of peace came over me as we made what we think are some wise decisions to help ensure that things will all be taken care of in the future when we die. But at the same time I realized that assurance in earthly things is only temporary and can have the possibility of falling through or disappointing us.

It made me even more thankful that as Christians we can have the assurance of eternal things. Not just the wonderful assurance of our salvation! But also the assurance that all of our debts have already been paid by Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! He is our life assurance policy! Because of His sacrifice on the cross, we can be assured of eternal life with God, our heavenly Father when we accept Jesus as our Savior.

So which would you rather have - insurance or assurance? Yes, insurance here on earth is a good thing to have. But heavenly assurance is even better.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that we can have complete assurance in you and in your Word. May we always put our faith and hope in you instead of the things of this world.

Beth Wehr

Countdown to Christmas

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.' So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. Luke 2:15-16 (NIV)

Christmas time.a wonderful time. Yet, so often it's a season of "hurrying". There's gifts to purchase, trees to decorate, cookies to bake, presents to wrap, cards to mail, company to get ready for, holiday meals to prepare, etc. The lists of things to do just seems endless. No matter how much we hurry, sometimes we feel like we're not accomplishing much on our never-ending "to do" list.

But the first Christmas was much simpler. It was not as complicated as Christmas is sometimes made to be today. Yes, the shepherds "hurried" to go see the newborn King, but it was a good and exciting time for them, not a stressful or anxious one.

How are you feeling as the countdown to Christmas begins? Are you feeling a little stressed or anxious instead of excited? I know I have been feeling overwhelmed with all of the preparations that still need to be done. So to help myself refocus my thoughts and calm my spirit, I recently stopped in the midst of all my hurriedness to write the following poem:

Countdown to Christmas
Only seven more days till the big Day arrives
Will we be ready? Will we survive?

Sometimes I wander as I look at my lists
Of things still to do and things I might have missed
But then I remembered it's not about me
It's not about presents or putting up the tree

It's all about Him - the newborn King
Born to die - what an unexpected thing
Yet that was God's plan for His Son He loves dear
And God loves us too! So I will rejoice and not fear

What gets done will get done; what doesn't, just won't
But all that's OK; I'm not going to mope
Instead I'll give thanks and do what I can
To make this year special, wonderful and grand!

For this is the day when we remember His birth
God as a babe came to the earth

No other gift could be better than this
So let's celebrate! Christmas Day will be bliss!
Thank You, Lord for Your wonderful Gift to us in Your Son, Jesus Christ. He is not just the reason for Christmas, but the reason for everything! May we truly honorYou this Christmas and every day of the year.

Beth Wehr

Seasons of Drought

Jesus answered.."whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14 (NIV)

The summer of 1988 will always be remembered by my family as the year of the drought. Everyone in our area of western Pennsylvania was affected by the extremely dry conditions either directly or indirectly - especially the farmers.

Earlier in the spring, we had a lot of rain on our farm. But the summer months brought little to no rain. When the rain stopped, so did the growth of our corn crop. The green corn stalks and leaves soon started to shrivel and dry up. We knew that we wouldn't have a corn crop at all unless we got some rain soon so we prayed and asked God for some relief from the drought.

God heard those prayers and answered them with what we called a little miracle. One day in the middle of June we were blessed with an abundant rain shower - a good soaking rain for about twenty minutes that saved our corn crop! Why we called it a miracle was because we learned that it only rained on our farm that day. None of the neighboring farms reported receiving any rain that day at all.

That fall at harvest time we had much to be thankful for. Although the corn crop was not as plentiful as previous years, what we harvested was enough to feed our cows through the winter months along with the abundant hay crop we had been able to harvest. We thanked God for His provision and for allowing our farm to survive the difficult year.

Since 1988 there have been many other dry summers. Each time we are without rain, I am reminded of how our lives can become dry or parched when we allow the drought conditions of life to weigh us down. Maybe you're in the middle of some drought conditions right now such as financial burdens, health issues, or broken relationships. Give them all to Jesus - the Living Water - and thirst no more.

Thank you, God that you are always with me - even during the times of drought in life. May I find encouragement and refreshment in the Living Water daily as I pray and read your Word.

Beth Wehr

Always in His Eyesight

O Lord, You have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise..Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. Psalm 139:1-2, 7-8 (NIV)

Every summer my husband and I enjoy going to county fairs and farm shows. However, each time we walk through a poultry barn, I become very uncomfortable as childhood memories of life on a farm with a rooster come back to haunt me.

Growing up on my grandparents' dairy farm, I was used to being around lots of animals such as cows, chickens, dogs and cats. But being around that large, mean Rhode Island Red rooster was something I never wanted to get used to. When we first got the rooster, things were okay because he usually stayed near the chicken house with the chickens. But as time passed, the rooster started exploring more areas of the farm and thought he was boss. He started investigating the sheds, the barn, the front yard, and even the back porch!

This was when our troubles started. The rooster had a reputation of attacking people. To walk from the house to the barn, it was necessary to carry a stick to defend yourself. He had a habit of running out of nowhere to chase a person to his or her destination. For example, one day as I was walking past the chicken house on my way to the barn, I thought I was safe because I didn't see the rooster anywhere. But suddenly I heard something behind me. It was the rooster chasing me! I ran to the barn as quickly as I could and waited there until someone could come rescue me; someone with a stick!

From that day on I was determined to stay as far away from that rooster as possible. I used different routes to walk from the house to the barn so that the rooster wouldn't see me. These routes included sneaking through the apple orchard, the pasture field, or anything else I could think of. Yet, no matter what route I took, that rooster must have been able to see me and know where I was because he would often be waiting for me when I got to my destination.

As I remember that rooster today, I'm reminded of an important lesson from scripture. Just like I was never out of that rooster's eyesight, I am never out of God's sight. He sees me no matter where I am. I cannot hide from His view. Yet, instead of this being a negative thing like it was with the rooster, it is a wonderful thing! Knowing that I am always in God's sight brings me comfort and assurance as it reminds me of God's love and care. May you know this comfort and assurance also - today and every day.

Thank you, God for watching over me no matter where I am or what I am doing. May I never try to hide from your presence.

Beth Wehr