As I’ve gotten older I’ve learned a few things along the way. That’s good isn’t it? In those early days in an obscure church on a main thoroughfare that shot from one city to another in Ohio, sat a little burgh. No stop lights. A few stop signs but really only at main intersections…where the country roads hit the main drag. My life was as obscure as that little burgh that had no store, no gas station, no post office, 2 churches and nothing else. It was there I learned…you make your own way. As a pastor I had no one. I had an occasional pastor “friend” but in those 5 years, I can count on one finger (okay less than a hand) how many of those there were. Pastoral life was lonely.
But as I’ve gotten older I now realize how important it is to have others. I’ve always been a social creature so there has always been a desire for others. But not always good. Some dragged me down. I needed to leave them behind. Some sucked the life and energy out of me by being so needy. I had to “kiss them goodbye.” But every once in a while I found one who was a friend and a kindred spirit. Strangely, more often than not, they were people (men) from the church I pastored. I soon learned I was not and am not an independent, self-sufficient, super-capable, all-powerful hotshot, i.e. God’s gift to the pastoral world. No, I’m just one of many-a vital link in a chain of amazing work accomplished by God. I’m not the end-all; no, I’m just one to help bring about God’s mission in this world: to draw people to Him.
As a common phrase will say: “We are all in this together.” We need each other. What are doing to link with others?
“Use me as I am, Father. Take what I bring and link it with what others bring.”
Our roll in spreading God’s message may seem small, Bill, but we never know how what we say or do will have a lasting impact on another. Yes, we do need each other!
Blessings!
You are so right Martha. That is why it is so important to be consistent in our witness.