WYFINAWYG (What you fear is not always what you get)

What I expected last night's 'Sunday School' meeting (we don't call it that anymore of course, but I'm trying to preserve a modicum of anonymity in this blog) to be like: major tension; overworked leader feeling unsupported; frustrated volunteers; personality clashes; one key volunteer already resigned and a few others not far behind; total meltdown of children's ministry on Sunday.

What last night's meeting was actually like: very minor tension; honest expression of people's situation; calm discussion; the person I thought had already resigned was willing to continue although with shared responsibility; a fairer distribution of workload; an analysis of why numbers are low; a radical change suggested (the children coming in briefly at the end of the service rather than for the first 15-20 minutes at the start) - in fact, all in all a very positive meeting.

So thank you, Lord, for answered prayers. I expected a difficult meeting with a disastrous outcome. I prayed for a calm meeting with a hopeful outcome. I attended a lively meeting with a visionary outcome.