I Am A Sound Ministry Widow

     Sometimes change can happen over time, like the constant force of a wave over a stone on the edge of the shore. Yet, sometimes change can come within a matter of months, days even, and you find your life is completely different than it was yesterday morning when you woke up. You never know what God is doing behind the scenes of your life, but you can rest in the fact that He knows what He is doing and has a special plan for your life. 
      That rapid change entered my life and things have been a little out of the ordinary ever since. It all began a few months ago when my husband told me he was feeling like God was calling him to take over the sound ministry at church because the gentleman who was in charge at the time moved away to a new job. My husband had been helping this gentleman in the sound booth so he already knew the ropes, but having complete responsibilty over the entire ministry was a different story. 
     Now, some of you readers may be thinking that working the sound is not a big deal, I mean, really, how hard is it to turn a microphone up and make sure all the listeners can hear the pastor clearly anyway? "Ha!" I say, "Think again!" This job goes a lot deeper than you can even begin to imagine. It is kind of like when I was that costumed character, Mogul Mouse, at Smuggler's Notch so many years ago. I cannot count the number of times that people would come up to me and  and make some remark about how easy my job must be and that I must love it because I never had to say anything! Oh now, that was not the case for the worker underneath all that fur! There was much more to it than meets the eye. 
     More often than not, we are the first ones in the door at church and one of the last ones to leave when the building is dark and cold. Many evenings I have stood waiting for my hubby to come out of that little booth over the platform as he fiddles with his dials and makes cds of the messages. I have become what I call 'the sound ministry widow.'
     Not only is he constantly reading manuals to the soundboard and all the doo-dad equipment the sound booth holds, but he has now taken it upon himself to watch little clips on Youtube about how to set the dials correctly on the soundboards or other helpful hints about speaker placement and other fun stuff every night in bed as I try to read. It is kind of hard to unwind from a long, busy day with a Smartphone talking beside you, as well as the strange tone apps he found so he can call the cats from all the way across the house. The cats may like the high pitched, ear piercing shrieks of sound, but it makes me want to dive under my pillow! I am a sound ministry widow. 
     I do not mean to complain here, really, I am not. I am simply stating the facts of what goes on beyond what you may see when it comes to a specific ministry. I must admit I am perfectly at peace where God has placed us and it is all good. Especially when it comes to laughing....I have had some good chuckles over some of the terms that I have learned from looking over his shoulder. I saw the word 'mixer' one day and another word 'gain.' I asked him if he was looking up one of those many new fangled diet plans that are out there, and he simply replied that the 'waist-band group was out of tune.'
   Another evening he told me he was going to go 'repink' the room. I gave him a funny look.  "The room was never pink in the first place, so how can you repink it? Are you getting some cans of pink paint?" I could not understand why Pastor would even think of putting pink in the auditorium (unless it was for a women's conference). Besides, my husband shuns pink when it comes to him and the boys wearing anything with a hint of that shade.
     With a laugh he explained, "No, it has nothing to do with paint. I am just learning about the fader of the audio, with the cardo of the stereo so I can record the mastery of the mixer so the speakers can all line up with the decibels of the volume control."
     Right. It all sounded good to me too. 
     Yet, in closing, I must admit it is all good. I like being right where God wants us to be. Knowing we are safe in His will brings peace to my heart and mind. Even if it means I sit husbandless at church more often than not. At least I know he sits behind the window over the platform watching with his careful eye at what goes on below, completely understanding the terms of what he does, even if I do not. And that is how God sees me...though we cannot see Him we know He is there, watching us with His careful eye, knowing exactly what is going on below, turning up a knob here, lowering another one there, so our life is exactly in tune with what He desires for us. We just need to be willing to pick up the tools He has given to us, using them for His glory, and let Him completely control our lives.

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