Hearts in Harmony

“You did fine on the last one with no practice. I have a feeling you could be teaching us, even on the ones you supposedly don’t know. Did your old church not do contemporary songs?”

“Actually, I haven’t been going to church very long. That’s why I don’t know very many.”

Paul knitted his brows as he tried to think. He’d been asking God for a long time to do something with their worship team. They weren’t very good, but they were the best the church had.

He turned to study Celeste. On the previous Sunday he’d been surprised when Adrian hadn’t sat with them during the morning service. Now he knew why. Because Paul wanted to see this person who had pulled his friend away, he was more than happy when they had all sat together for the evening service.

He shouldn’t have, but he’d paid more attention to Celeste than he had to the pastor. She was obviously unfamiliar with the flow of the service, yet she showed a lot of enthusiasm over things Paul had long considered routine. She’d even taken notes when Pastor Ron was speaking, something Paul hadn’t done for a long time. Watching her had been a sad reminder of how easily complacency crept in.

He told himself that was about to change.

“I know you’re not sure, but I think it could work. We need you, and I think this is a good place for you to fit in, even though you’re new. I’d really like it if we could all pray about it. Together. Right now.”

She glanced back and forth between all the guys. “Well… I guess so.”

Celeste followed the men into the living room, unable to believe what was happening. She did want to join their worship team. The strength of that realization took her breath away. Because she’d been working on becoming a professional musician, all God’s music touched her.

But she hadn’t been a Christian long enough to know about things like this. Not only was she a newcomer to this church, she was a newcomer to God’s family. In addition to her new faith, everything in her life was in a state of flux. Because she tried to keep to herself, she wasn’t even sure she was worshipping God properly. She had no one to ask if she was doing it right.

She doubted she was ready for the responsibility of being part of a team whose purpose was to lead others to praise and to worship God. Paul appeared to be a strong leader, so she would be under his tutelage, but she didn’t know if that was enough.

Adrian and his friends sat on the couch and loveseat, leaving the easy chair for her.

Prior to praying with Adrian before they ate, and besides church, the only other time she’d prayed with someone else had been with her mother’s neighbor, the woman who’d told her all about God. She’d never prayed in a small group.

All the men folded their hands in their laps.

“Let’s pray,” Paul said, and everyone bowed their heads.

The room fell silent. Celeste covered her face with her hands and bared her soul to God. She told Him how much being a part of their team would fill her empty heart, more than replacing what she had given up. She praised Him for the new friendships she could see, beginning with Adrian and his friends. She had liked them all immediately. And strangely enough, she trusted them as a group. Singly, that might be different, but when they were all together, she’d never felt more safe.

From her first step into Faith Community Fellowship, she’d experienced an instant peace. She knew she’d gone to the right place.

Adrian’s voice broke the silence. “Dear Heavenly Father. I pray for your guidance for Celeste as she makes her decision. I pray for your kindness and mercy upon her in this, and every area of her life. Thank you for your blessings and continued love, today, and forever.”

“Amen,” Paul said softly.

Celeste sat straight, trying to maintain her composure. “Yes,” she said, failing in her attempt to keep a tremor out of her voice. “I do want to be a part of this team. As long as it doesn’t matter that I haven’t been a Christian very long.”

Paul smiled at her, his brown eyes sparkling with warmth. Just as with Adrian, she felt comfortable with him.

“That’s great,” Paul said. “The only thing we have to do is talk to Pastor Ron. And then he’ll probably want to talk to you, too.”

Celeste’s heart went cold. “The pastor is going to want to talk to me?”

Paul nodded. “It will be just so he can get to know you a little, and, if I can be blunt, to know your heart is in the right place. It won’t matter that you haven’t been a Christian long. God doesn’t have a trial waiting period. He takes you just as you are, just so long as your heart and soul are open to Him. And so will Pastor Ron.”

Celeste forced herself to smile. She wasn’t foolish enough to think just anyone who said they were a Christian and a good musician would be able to go up to the front and lead the congregation in worship. Pastor Ron would want to do more than just say hello. He would want to know about her, know something about her life before she walked in the door of his church.

She had fooled herself in thinking that if she didn’t talk about it, it would go away. Now she would have to tell him everything, even though it was the last conversation she ever wanted to have.

Chapter Four

“Celeste? Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?”

Celeste gulped and looked up at Adrian, towering above her in the doorway. “I’m not sure. I just saw Pastor Ron. Maybe I should go home.”

“Nonsense. Come in.” Adrian pushed the door wide open, and stepped aside.

Celeste stepped into Adrian’s living room, but her mind was still back in Pastor Ron’s office.

She’d heard somewhere that confession was good for the soul. In some ways that was true, but now, not yet an hour later, she wondered if she’d done the right thing. It was Pastor Ron’s job to forgive and accept her, regardless of what she’d done, whether or not she deserved it. However, she doubted the rest of God’s flock would feel the same way, and that included Adrian and his friends.

Talking to Pastor Ron and telling him everything had been the hardest thing she’d ever done. Now that it was over, her first impulse was to go home and take something to calm her nerves, but that was one of the things she had put behind her. Still, she knew where to get anything she wanted, within minutes, no questions asked, as long as she had cash. It was easy, and no one would ever know.

Instead, she found herself at Adrian’s house.

“So, how did it go?”

“Pastor Ron welcomed me to the church, and to the worship team. I don’t know what to say.”

Adrian’s smile widened. “Don’t be nervous, you’ll be fine.” He checked his wristwatch. “Have you had dinner? I was just about to throw a burger on the barbecue. I can easily make two.”

She splayed her hands on her queasy stomach. “I don’t know. I’m not sure how I feel. I don’t even know why I’m here. I’m sorry to interrupt your dinner. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Adrian stepped back and extended one arm in the direction of his kitchen. “You’re always invited. If you really don’t want a burger, then the least I can do is offer you a cup of coffee.”

Celeste followed him through the kitchen to his back patio, where his propane barbecue was heating up. He directed her to sit in one of the lawn chairs, then disappeared back into the kitchen. The microwave beeped while she waited. When he returned, he carried both a cup of coffee and a plate with two hamburger patties, both defrosted. As he placed both burgers on the grill, he peeked over his shoulder at her. “Just in case you change your mind.”

Celeste’s heart sped up to double time. If only she’d met someone like him eight years ago.

Adrian poked at the patties with his spatula. “I think I speak for all of the guys when I say that I can hardly wait until Sunday when you’ll be with us.”

“You don’t mean this Sunday? You mean next week, right?” She thought back to her previous experiences. Whenever she had performed without having practiced with the rest of the band, their audience had been too drunk to notice a few misplayed notes. This was different. Not only would everyone listening be thinking clearly, this was for God, and she wanted to do her best.

Completely serious, Adrian turned around. “I got an e-mail from Randy this afternoon, asking if I’d heard from you. He’s already planned some new settings he’s going to try. He fully intends to be in the sound room, not at the front, playing.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

Adrian shrugged his shoulders. “If it makes you feel any better, I phoned Paul after I read Randy’s e-mail. He was really impressed with what you did yesterday. He’s very excited about how we’re going to sound with a good pianist. Frankly, we can’t possibly be any worse. He said running through everything when we’re setting up Sunday morning will be enough. But if you’re nervous, I can go over the songs with you this evening. It’s not the same, but it’s better than nothing.”

“I wanted to set my standards high. If you’re willing to take the time, then I’d really appreciate it.”

Adrian gave the burgers a flip. “Great. These are almost done. If you’ve hungry, come into the kitchen, and we can fix the buns. I left the other stuff inside because of the bugs.”

A sudden breeze sent the aroma of the mouth-watering burgers into her face. Her stomach grumbled. “That smells so good… But I don’t know…”

Adrian turned down the heat, closed the lid of the barbecue, and escorted her into the kitchen to fix the buns. “I’d still be cooking and eating, even if you weren’t here. Don’t worry about it. It’s no extra trouble.”