God Calling

God Calling

Carol and I met with some friends recently we had not seen in about 40 years. We met at Romano’s Macaroni Grill in Strongsville, Ohio, just south of Cleveland. Our visit was as delightful as we hoped it would be. We talked about our times at Wittenberg University, performing together (he was a terrific baritone), having dinner together, and mostly, how God moved to bring us to this time in our lives.

They spoke of times when God called them to other places. One move was from a good ministry in Pennsylvania, all the way to Oklahoma. A new church, new friends, and a whole new life style awaited them. They knew they would obey God’s call to go, even though the move would not be easy.

Carol and I experienced closed doors and open ones. After graduating from TNU in 1969 I was accepted at Southern Methodist University with a scholarship to pursue a Master of Sacred Music degree. Carol and I headed for Dallas, but, quite literally at the last minute, that door closed tightly, and we headed back to Kentucky; Carol to her 3rd grade teaching job and me to…whatever.

Carol told me one evening that the school where she was teaching was looking for a music teacher. I did not have a music education degree, but decided to look into it anyway. With additional class work during the summers, that job, grades 1-6 elementary music, and one year of eighth grade general music, lasted three years.

The librarian was the principal’s wife, and she would give me Music Educator’s Journals from time to time. One edition had an ad from Wittenberg University. They offered a Master of Sacred Music degree in the School of Music. We went to Springfield in 1972 where I met Dr. Orcenith Smith, a man who God placed in my life. He moulded and shaped this greenhorn in a way that no one else has. Also, Carol met the wonderful Esther Manual, her principal, who was to Carol what Dr. Smith was to me.

In one of my voice lessons, in the fall of ’72, Dr. Smith said to me, “Mr. Liles, would you like to do a Messiah?” Eager to grow and learn my trade, I said, “Sure. Where?” “Mount Vernon Nazarene College,” was his providential reply. I sang Messiah there in ’72 and ’73, and from ’76 until my retirement in 2011, 37 times total at MVNU.

Dr. Smith also encouraged me to pursue doctoral work at OSU. I auditioned at OSU before the voice faculty in the spring of ’74. I thought I would do graduate work part time and work at something else. Before I left Mershon Auditorium they interviewed me, and asked if I would be interested in a TA, a graduate teaching assistantship. I could go full time, receive a small monthly stipend, and would only be responsible for buying my books. I would get valuable teaching experience and LOADS of performance opportunities. Once again, God opened another door.

In 1976 I applied for a faculty position at MVNU (then MVNC) and was offered my first contract by Dr. L. Guy Neese. I received my DMA in 1977. The dean’s office paid my tuition for that final year of doctoral study, which included my document and a couple of final performances. Thirty-five years later I retired. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Does God open doors, where entering them is obviously the right thing to do? Does God call us to new things we are not expecting, that may not be easy to follow? In any case, things work out far better than we can imagine. Whether God opens doors, or just calls us to go, like he did Abraham, he is there, leading, showing the way, saying, “Don’t worry my child; I will go with you.” Phil and Becky stayed in Oklahoma for eleven years, and their abandonment to God has led them to this time of life, fulfilled and more grateful than they could ever express.

No one can be certain of how God will lead. The main thing is, if he calls us, he will go with us. He knows exactly what he is doing. Ours is to simply trust and obey, no matter what.

Thanks be to God.