Midweek Moment

Greetings. As some of you may know, we have a summer intern this year. He is splitting his time between our church and Belleview for the next couple of months. As a way of helping you all get to know this young man, I offered him this space, this week, to write to you all. As the summer progresses you will see him in on the campus as well as in worship, leading, reading, and even preaching. Please welcome him as you can and I hope you are moved by his experience his first Sunday with us, as he describes it in this week's Midweek Moment.

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Taking a Moment to Pause and Reflect

Good morning, afternoon, or evening to you! For those of you that I have not had an opportunity to meet yet I would like to say, “Hello!” If I have had the privilege to meet you then I would like to say, “Hello! Nice to see you again!” My name is Robert Bledsoe and I have been given the opportunity to intern at First UMC Belleview and Druid Hills UMC in Ocala this summer with Pastor Debbie and Pastor Daryl. My first day was Sunday the 20th of May. It was quite the day to say the least! The title of this midweek moment may cause a few of you to think, “Heavens, this kid has only been working for a few days and already wants a break!” On the contraire, it is actually the exact opposite. On my first Sunday I was at Belleview for both worship services and then had to quickly (but safely) drive back to Druid Hills in Ocala to meet Pastor Daryl for a new member class.

Directly following the new member class Pastor Daryl grabbed song books, looked at me and said, “Ready?!” At this point in time I panicked because I thought I was going to have to sing in front of a group of people. Singing (at least well) was not a gift God bestowed upon me. To my surprise we went to the Ocala Health and Rehab Center. Upon arrival we went to a room with an organ and about thirty elderly folks that were a part of the memory care unit. We began singing some old favorite hymns, Pastor Daryl gave a brief message, and we sang a few more hymns. When the last song was over, a man in the front row who would be slouched over during the message, but would perk right up when we sang, began singing the third verse of the hymn by himself. He sang the entire verse aloud with no organ to accompany him or without even looking at the song book. When Watson found a good place to come back in and join, the man began to weep. The spirit was truly present and alive in that room. All of the people in the room were smiling and had a look of joy on their faces. It was quite the first day to say the least!

Have you ever had a day like this? When so many great things are happening to and around you that you don’t even know what to do? Or maybe you have experienced a day that is exactly opposite to this? Maybe it was an awful day where everything just seemed to be going wrong. I know we have all had good days and bad days, and a lot of them I’m sure. Something that I try to do when I am having a good or bad day or maybe just a normal day is to constantly be in communication with God. Asking him what I should do next, who should I talk to, or what is best for not only me but those surrounding me and that I will come into contact with that day. This week, I hope that you will take some time everyday to just pause, and reflect. Look forward, look backward, look into the present and reflect on your daily life. I hope that this time will bring you peace and joy.

Feel free to email me with any questions or comments at robsbledsoe@yahoo.com. Have a wonderful week! See you all soon!