Choosing Songs(Marla) Kelly glanced at the clock and then said, “Okay, ladies let’s get started. As you know, Gary has requested that our little group start choosing one song a week for Sunday mornings. He wants to have one older song along with the new things. I think this will be wonderful! So, what ideas do we have so far?” She looked eagerly at the others, her smile warm and welcoming. She was dressed casually in jeans and her favorite sweater, and she looked comfortable but still presentable.

Betty, a loud, boisterous woman with hair that was dyed a bright red, was the first to answer. “Joyful, Joyful,” she answered. “A lovely song and a perfect choice.”

“Oh, well, that is a nice song, Betty, as everyone knows, but 'Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow' would be my first choice. This came from Nora, a small but unafraid woman who had dressed perfectly since she was seven and thought everyone should do the same. She said it with a smile, but with an air of assumed authority. She gracefully folded her arms across her chest.

Ann watched this silently. She wasn’t one for confrontation. She thought the idea of including older songs on Sundays was a good idea, but she had no opinions at all on what those songs should be. She looked down at her hands which were folded in her lap. She was the newest and youngest member of the group, and right now she definitely felt out of place. Unlike the others, she wore lip gloss and flipflops.

Kelly said, “Those are both wonderful songs! And we can certainly use both -

“But first one should be ‘Joyful, Joyful,’” interjected Betty.

“No, ‘Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow,” said Nora.

“‘Joyful, Joyful.’” said Betty sternly. She sounded anything but joyful.

“‘Praise. God. From. -” But she wasn’t allowed to finish.

“Ladies! Now, we don’t need to argue this,” said Kelly. She looked at each one in turn.

Ann silently prayed that Kelly would not ask her to choose.

“How about we look at the calendar? Kelly suggested. “There are four of us. We can each choose a Sunday and take turns. If there is a fifth Sunday, we will ask Gary to choose the song on his own. We’ll set it up for the first three months and see if that method works well. Agreed?”

For this, Ann spoke up. “Yes,” she said pleasantly.

Kelly numbered four small pieces of paper, folded them, and placed them on the table. “Now, starting with Ann, we will go clockwise around the table and take a paper. The number that you get is your week every month. The ladies seemed satisfied with this. “You don’t have to choose all three of your songs right this minute. Please text or call me by next Wednesday.” This too was accepted without any drama. When it was realized that Ann would have the first Sundays, nobody argued. There seemed to be an understanding that it was probably best that she happened to get that number. The atmosphere in the room was much more pleasant. Maybe not quite joyful, but certainly tolerable.

When Kelly got home, her husband said, “So, how did your meeting go?”

She paused, pursed her lips, and then said, “Let me ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“Okay. Do you like hymns?”

“Sure. I mean, I guess. I haven't heard the old stuff for a long time.”

“So, if you heard one in church?”

He shrugged.

“And if it wasn’t your very favorite of all time?”

He shrugged again. “Does it matter? I could always just listen to my favorite later on. What’s all this about?”

Kelly shook her head and said, “Never mind. Remember how you helped the kids when they were arguing yesterday? Let’s just say it’s a good thing I was there to watch what you did. Your method works wonders.

“I thought your meeting was with adults?”

Kelly only nodded. Her husband understood.

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