The only thing worse...

I am on the schedule to lead song time at our foreign fellowship here in Laos. Because we all take turns I only lead every couple of months. In November we started planning the adoption and ran into problems with the family asking for money. One Sunday morning we were finally able to meet with Jonny’s birth-mom and her family and explain very clearly why we could not give them any money. It was a long and stressful day and when we came home we relaxed and didn’t go to fellowship that night.

Fast forward one week. Our service starts at 5, but because we live out of town, we need to leave between 4:30 and 4:45. I was busy getting ready to go upstairs and at 4:15, I remembered I was on the schedule to lead sometime in early November. I raced downstairs and opened my email, praying that I didn’t have to lead in 20 minutes.

Let me ask you, what is the only thing worse than finding out you are supposed to lead w-ship in 20 minutes? Give up? Finding out that you were supposed to lead w-ship the week before and you forgot. I found out later that the speaker that night stood up and asked for the leader, and when no one came forward they did music a cappella. I was so embarrassed that we decided not to go to fellowship that night. I know, I know, I should have gone and fessed up, but no one is perfect.