Last Sunday I played my fretted dulcimer during the offertory time at church. It was for the second time.

I had chosen to make a little medley of old hymns - All Glory Laud and Honor, and Praise to the Lord. As I practiced, I wished I could make them more rich and sophisticated, but I didn't really succeed.

The lay leader of our little congregation is about 65, I would say. One day she mentioned that her husband had been in the hospital for three weeks. She didn't seem to want further discussion, but it is obvious that her life is not an easy one.

At the beginning of the offertory, our pianist played the lullaby from 'Hansel and Gretel.' I thought it a little unconventional for church, but so what.

After the service, our lay leader said that she loved the lullaby and the dulcimer because they were "So peaceful!"

Well - I had been trying to be more showy, and she had been longing for tranquil. Then, a day later, I glanced at a booklet of meditations the lay leader had given me. In it, a pastor from Texas said,

'The older I get, the more convinced I am that people never outgrow the need for a lullaby.'

Moral - keep playing even though you may never be a champion.