It is 11:30 pm on Thursday evening January 13th. Tomorrow is January 14th; two days after the anniversary of the Haiti earthquake. Now you are probably wondering why that is such a significant day but the morning of the 14th was the morning I along with many others received the news that Ben Larson had been killed so this day is also a sad anniversary. However I am reminded of the beauty of the worship service my small group put together for that evening. Little did we know that the songs we chose, the service, etc would honor Ben’s life. You see at the beginning of the two weeks we were given which night we would lead worship. It just happened that my small group got Thursday evening Jan 14th. As we prepared for this day, we decided to do a service based around MLK Jr Day since it was on Monday etc. One of the girls decided we should sing the song “Freedom is Coming” because she liked it. We picked the MLK Jr Service out of the “This Far by Faith” hymnal etc. My group was ready to lead worship but then Thursday morning came and we received the news about Ben. Many tears were shed that day. I remember one of the girls letting me cry on her shoulder. That afternoon as we were preparing for the worship, we decided to play some of Ben’s music as a prelude as people were entering into the chapel. We also would tie Ben, MLK Jr, and the Diaconal Community all into one as we explained why we chose that service. The song we played was Ben’s version of Psalm 30. Then we entered into worship, we sang, we danced, we worshipped. Then later the next day, we found out that one of Ben’s most influential songs in his life was the song “Freedom is Coming.” Talk about a Holy Spirit moment! I am forever grateful for all the people gathered on that night in the small chapel at LTSG. I was blessed to know Ben and am glad that he made my friend Renee so happy. So tomorrow I will remember with fondness that worship service. I will remember listening to Ben’s version of Psalm 30 and will probably play it a few times tomorrow. I will always hold that service in my mind as a special worship I experienced in my life and I am thankful to all those that experienced it with me. It still gives me chills even just thinking about it!