Daily Faithfulness

As I've been participating with the Ambassadors Choir in their program at Mason Christian Village this week, I've been thinking about longevity and faithfulness. Loren Swedburg, (above, left) is 93 years old. He's been serving the Lord his whole life; he retired to Mason Christian Village after the death of his wife. The two of them taught with distinction at Nebraska Christian College. His son Tom (above, right) and Tom's wife, Bonnell, were two of the first people we met when we went to serve First Christian Church in Longmont, Colorado, in 1976, and they've continued to serve in a variety of roles through one or the other of the Christian churches there every year since then. They were in town this week to visit Loren, and I got them to pose for this picture.
As I stood in the back and listened to the chorus sing, I thought about Loren's faithfulness, and that of so many others on the platform who have lived for Christ for many decades. I thought of all the concerts, programs, worship services, solos, quartets, recording sessions, camp choirs, and more that my friend Dave Lautzenheiser has led year after year, and this program is just a part of the ministry he's performing in Mason this year.  Joanne Hopton who served with unfailing energy for years as the publisher's secretary at Standard Publishing, and for a short while as mine, was on the platform. I wish I could have interviewed all the three dozen or so members to learn more about classes taught, choir rehearsals attended, funeral dinners cooked, money given, and on and on represented in the lives of this chorus.
Much that's accomplished in this world happens because folks get up, get out, and get on with it--faithfully day after day. We can't all do something great or newsworthy every day, maybe not every year, maybe not ever. Very few get their name in lights. But people like some I've been enjoying this week are examples to all of us just to keep at the tasks at hand, because the sum total of daily faithfulness can make a big difference.