It seems that most families I know have had some sort of cold/ flu/ virus thing going around recently. I was trying to do everything I could to avoid it, especially when my husband came down with a sinus infection last week. I washed my hands a lot, sanitized the kitchen and bathrooms and did extra loads of laundry. I dranks lots of OJ and made sure I took my vitamins. Can you tell I don't like to be sick? But, by Friday night, I knew I was in trouble. I had my own kind of it beginning with congestion. (I guess, you just can't control these sorts of things. Good lesson to learn, again).
Everybody gets a cold every now and then, so really it should be no big deal, but considering Sunday was only a day and half a way, I was freaking out.
Whereas in previous positions I was surrounded by several other pastors on staff or ordained folks to fill in for me if it was my turn to preach, this is not the case anymore. It is just me. Flying solo is the name of the game. If I am not able to preach, I'm not sure who would on a moments notice.
While there would be options for if I had a fever or didn't think I could stand up to preach (I could call associational ministers or beg one of my associate pastor friends to come), I woke up and felt like I could go to church. It wasn't that bad.
Except one problem: I woke up with out a voice. Seriously.
Knowing that you always feel worse in the morning, I got ready for church as if all would be fine. I br
eathed in a lot of steam. I drank several cups of hot tea. I loaded my pocket with cough drops.
Yet, I was afraid of the sermon. I'd never had to deliver a sermon before in poor voice. Voice is everything to the delivery. How you shape your voice to what you want your hearers to focus helps more people to not only stay awake in church, but actually take in what you've worked so hard to prepare.
It is always my goal to present my thoughts in as clear voice as possible. For I believe a sermon is more that just words on the paper: when the words of scripture have a voice, they have life.
So, when the time came for me to enter the pulpit today, I did so with a cough drop in my mouth and water by my side. And, I got through it the best I could. (Though I felt sorry for all the listeners who had to hear my froggy voice for 20 minutes, in the end, I think several people actually heard what I was trying to say from the comments afterwards).
Maybe it didn't sound as bad as I thought? What a gift to this crazy day!
For, now I'm glad to be resting at home and glad that by time I enter the pulpit again next Sunday, the frog will be gone. I promise to be more grateful for my normal voice when it returns. It is a gift I forgot I was really happy to have!
