Sunday, July 15, 2012

Nudged into going to Vespers





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:


6 comments:

  1. 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!

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  2. I 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.

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  3. Mafra,

    It 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?

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  4. Mimi,
    I guess God honors our effort when we do things we may not feel like doing...

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  5. 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.

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  6. Off2,
    Thanks for the info....I am constantly learning new stuff about Orthodoxy! :}

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