Musical Adventures and The Power of Prayer

G-d never ceases to amaze me with His ever-presence, His glory, and His faithfulness. Over the past few weeks I have taken part in various community and social activities, such as an inner city neighbourhood clean up. I did everything from photographing (my main job there) to actually going out on a truck and helping collect garbage. I even drove the truck -- just about a metre or so, but hey, I drove it!

I took part in a protest at the Legislature concerning the oil companies and their disregard for the environment. A friend wrote a song for the small direct action, which involved dumping a lot of plastic ducks into the wading pool. Only two small problems -- he was not confident singing, and he doesn;t play an instrument. So I was recruited. And I got right into it -- literally. I rolled up my pants and played the song in the pool, along with the ducks that had all keeled over on their sides (quite appropriate since the action concerned the deaths of 500 ducks at a tailings pond). A huge photo of me appeared in the local newspaper the next day, wet pants, guitar, and everything.

Then, I got a last minute music gig at a local coffee shop. My first solo set of longer than two songs, and a professional gig as well. I played for a half hour. The crowd was not that big -- mostly the other musicians on the bill and a few of my friends, plus some people who had just wandered in, but it was a great experience.

The next morning, I played at a downtown music and art festival. Being a church musician, I am used to playing in the morning, but not after playing another gig the night before. I was part of a songwriter's circle. There were four of us, and one of the other women was someone who attended my congregation for a number of years. I never heard her perform before, so it was a real treat -- she was wonderful, as were all of the other musicians.

The festival was an outdoor event, and it was raining hard with dark skies and thunder that morning. I prayed to HaShem for good weather, as I had been all week. But the rain would not relent. I became satisifed that whatever was meant to happen was happening. Then, as I arrived at the park, the sun came out. Even one of the organizers said I must have brought it with me. But I didn't. He did. And although the skies did threaten at times, there was no more rain and the event was a success. Amen and amen!