I started working at the local burger restaurant when I was in high school. In college, I continued to work at Hardee's during the summer, in addition to being a Resident Assistant in the dorms. After college, I worked in a hospital blood bank for six years, and even kept doing the same work 20 hours a week the whole time I was in seminary. After graduation, I went to my first appointment, where my productivity was measured in people visited, youth trips taken and miles put on my spiffy little Mazda pickup truck. It wasn't until 10 years later that I became a stay-at-home spouse for the first time.
It think it's safe to say that in the beginning, it wasn't pretty. My wonderful husband would come home from a day at the office and ask, "What did you do today?" And no matter what tasks I had accomplished, I felt like it was never enough... no, maybe "enough" isn't the right word... maybe "fulfilling" would be a better way to think about it. How was laundry, cooking and cleaning serving the Kingdom of God? It didn't take long for me to realize that my calling to ministry was being fulfilled, even though I wasn't in an official appointment setting. The attacks on September 11, 2001 were a defining moment as friends and family looked for a calm voice and spirit to remind them that God was still with us, even in the midst of the tragedy and turmoil of those days.
That was a period of great change in our lives as my Air Force husband's career moved us four summers in a row, once with only three weeks notice. And as I moved from place to place, and met more and more people, my gifts for ministry always found just the perfect outlet. I was on leave of absence for six years before I had the opportunity to service a new appointment, this time in southwest Oklahoma. Three years at Altus FUMC was measured in classes taught and planned, baptisms and Eucharists celebrated, and wonderful worship and fellowship. But during that time, I also realized that ministry was much more than that. It extended to all of the families on the base and in the community. That wasn't a ministry of invitation to others to be a Methodist, but was instead a ministry of care and presence. I got a sweet note from someone saying, "I didn't ever need to call, but I knew that if I did, you would be there."
Everyday I pray that I can be available in the places where I am needed. Sometimes that is about listening. When someone calls and says, "Can you do lunch?" it may just be about enjoying a meal together. Or it may be about something more. How can we know? Sometimes it's about asking questions or brainstorming new ways to think about a problem or a point of view. Sometimes it's about hearing a tone of voice, or what is not being said, and figuring out a way to be a help. I still need to work on listening twice as much as I speak, but I am so happy to have the time to be available to people. And to learn the lesson that being the hands of Christ to those around the work God has given me at time, and more importantly, that it is enough.
It's easy to keep a list of all of the tasks that we accomplish in the name of the gospel, but the intangibles are just as important, maybe even more so. What would our faith journeys look like if we scheduled less and were available more for the little things that we could do to be appropriately present with people, whatever their needs? I'm thinking it would look less like reoccurring appointments on our calendars and more like just hanging out with people... more about going places we've never been before...more about stepping out in faith... more about being the Church and not just going to church.
Hard work, indeed, but Paul reminds us that this is what a life of faith is really all about:
Romans 12:1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (The Message)
Journey on, my friends, journey on, and may we give encouragement and support to one another along the way.
Peace, Deb
Thank you so much for this Deb. This is completely where I'm at during our transition phase into our first retirement before heading out into the mission field full-time.
ReplyDelete