So my wife asks me just after I walked into the house whether I was going to Vespers tonight. That had been my plan but my kids and I had been running around all day looking for a new car and truthfully, I did not feel all that up to going. I was tired; I was feeling unsettled like I just needed to relax so I got in front of the computer and went to facebook to check out all the cool status' of my friends :)
Sitting there, in front of the computer, I did start to relax and my mind did stop racing in a thousand different directions so the thought came to me, Maybe I should go to Vespers after all!
But, in order to do that I'd have to rush so I was pretty much settled that tonight I would not be going....
Then I got a Instant Message pop up on Facebook,
Hey, you are supposed to be driving to Vespers.
I glanced down to see who it was from and I read the last name, Martin. For some reason I didn't look closely and I thought the one doing the Instant Messaging was Tiffany Martin, Jim's daughter who has been attending Vespers as well. So I replied,
So are you.After I sent it, I realized it was not actually Tiffany but Jim's wife, Judy. She has not been joining her husband on his journey towards Orthodoxy which is why she put (and I can picture her chuckling as she typed it)
No I'm not but good try.So the only thing I could come back with is one of those little smiley face emoticons. What can I say, I am speechless sometimes.
Now, I took this as a sign that I should get off the computer, quickly get dressed and head out out to Vespers. I told my wife, "I think I'm gonna go after all"
I did arrive ten minutes late but I am glad I went. It turns out, I wasn't as distracted as I thought I would be and all the time during worship I am thinking how God gently nudged me into going to Vespers. In the end, it was my decision and I still could have said No but if I hadn't, it sure wouldn't be God's fault!
So, Thank you, Holy Spirit and thank you, Judy!
And since, as is frequently the case, the Holy Spirit leaves me speechless, all I can say is:
Awkward moments, but it's the truth...it would be nice if she were also going to vespers! ♥ Our church has vigil (vespers AND matins)...which is harder to endure, especially for the kids, but we live a mere 3 miles from church, so we try to go every Sat night!
ReplyDeleteI kind of had a similar situation last week, and even though I was late to Vespers (oops) the blessing I was given by being there way outweighed that part.
ReplyDeleteMafra,
ReplyDeleteIt seems strange to marry Vespers and Matins together. Is that "New" in Orthodoxy or just something that is new to me? I mean, Vespers is evening and Matins is morning....How long does the service last?
Mimi,
ReplyDeleteI guess God honors our effort when we do things we may not feel like doing...
It's more common to do Great Vigil in the Russian tradition. 9th hour + Vespers + Matins + 1st hour = All Night Vigil. I've seen it done in an hour and a half. In monasteries it's probably much longer. At my old church, OCA, done rarely, it ran about two and a half hours.
ReplyDeleteOff2,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info....I am constantly learning new stuff about Orthodoxy! :}