Thought I would share something that really touched my heart this weekend and I thought you all would appreciate it.
This past weekend I was at a pastor's wives conference in our district. A friend of mine, Sharon Kiser (an author & speaker - excellent) was one of the speakers at the conference and she shared the following story. I'll try to tell it as good as she did though it will be difficult to top her!!!
Many years ago at their previous church, Sharon was greeting people on a Sunday morning. A woman approached and she greeted her and said that she had missed her the previous Sunday and asked where she was. (Not being nosy, just honestly concerned) The woman said, "I was goldfish sitting." Sharon thought it must be a joke so she asked what the woman meant. The woman said that a friend had gone out of town and asked her to babysit her goldfish. She said she took it very seriously and decided to stay with the goldfish rather than come to church. Sharon thought it was a lame excuse (just as all of us would!) and when the woman walked away, Sharon thought to herself, "Lord...what am I doing? Am I really giving myself...investing my life...spending myself to pastor people who are staying home and babysitting GOLDFISH?????" She had to ask - is any of this really making a difference? What in the world do I come on Sunday mornings for? Why do I continue to pastor these people when they are so "mature" they stay home to babysit a goldfish even after all my attempts to grow and mature them?
At that moment a little girl came up and grabbed ahold of Sharon's legs and hugged her. Sharon bent down to greet the little girl and she said, "Hi Sister Sharon! I just love coming to church on Sundays!" At that moment, Sharon thought, "THIS is why I come to church, and THIS is why I continue to do what I do.
But that's not all. Now years later, that same little girl is a missionary to a country where she is rescuing little girls who have been taken as prostitutes and getting them to safety.
All that to say this -- it is worth it all. Don't concentrate on those who may stay home and babysit their goldfish. Concentrate on the little girls who are hugging your legs. You are making a huge difference!!!
How is it that your encouragement comes at exactly the time when I need it? This church planting thing is SO different then pastoring an established church. We are meeting and building our core but a big part of me misses the role of pastor's wife/partner that I had before and it is hard to be patient as we build and disciple this core group. I want to see ahead but you are so right. It is worth it to invest in the lives of these that God has put into the very foundation of this new ministry. Thank you for your encouragement!
I know...you may be out of your comfort zone right now, but it won't last forever. And this time is NOT wasted. You are setting the proper foundation for a ministry that will last! What you are doing now makes a difference although you may feel that it does not compare to what you were doing last year. What you are doing now is going to reap rewards for the long haul as you have your leadership rock solid in starting out.
I will pray for you as you come to mind...that God would give you eyes to see just a little bit down the road...far enough to realize that indeed, you are doing life changing work right now.
