The unexpected.

         Some days are not at all what we think they are going to be.  

         Actually some weeks are not what you think they are going to be

.....and this has been one of those.......

It's interesting, never in a million years did I think that I would be traveling to the Holy Lands more than once in my life but here it is, I am returning this year....not just as a pilgrim but as a Leader; helping to open the Land of the Holy to those entrusted into my care.  It's an amazing thing and one that I don't think that I have wrapped my head around but that's another story for another time.

I have been making a list of persons who have been telling me that they were interested.  If I saw someone that picked up a brochure I added them to the list.  I simply wanted to create a list of persons in whom I could pray over and in whom God could reveal those who were to be a community for this two week journey.    My list has been growing...

Honestly there was a person in whom I heard wanted to go on this trip and my heart began to leap.  She's an amazing young woman.  A young woman who has a love for God, it's not the kind of showy faith that others think of. It's the kind of love for Christ that is filled with a deep warmth for others....it tends to the least in ways that others would never think of....it is the kind of faith that comes to life in and through worship (not jut the act of worship but the spirit of worship).  She is a young woman who works hard and rarely does for herself.

I knew that if she came on the pilgrimage it would be a huge sacrifice.  

This week I had the honor of telling her that someone had given her the gift of this trip.  I almost cried in joy for the gift that was given to her.  Then I had the amazing privilege of telling her that she was indeed coming on the pilgrimage with us.  She herself was almost in tears and what a joy it was to share that news.

Yesterday I had the privilege of teaching a person new to ministry a trick and skill that a DEC took the time to teach me in my first job as a youth minister.  It's the trick and skill of planning trips, of making a budget for a ministry that you were not a part of the previous year, and the understanding that you give yourself some wiggle room just in case something goes wrong during the year.  I know it's a small thing but it felt good to teach someone something that has stuck with me for almost 20 years in ministry.

Never would I have guessed a month ago that we would be having youth leading a worship service in our church anytime soon.  This week, I have had a 6th grader step up with a willingness to lead our congregation through our time of prayer.  I have had an 8th grader that was willing to lead the beginning of our service as we center ourselves and pass the peace of Christ.  I have two high schoolers that are willing to stand to greet persons as they arrive and then to serve as persons that bring the offerings of our community to the table of our Lord.  All of that occurring within a whim, without an expectation but occurring with goodness.  

Today I made the last cup of spiced tea that was given to me this fall.  It's a tea that is so close to the tea my grandmother made that I could feel her the first time I made a cup.  Today as I looked at my jar I was a bit sad that it was to be my last cup, but then the very person that gave it to me this fall showed up at my office with a whole new batch of spiced tea!!  It wasn't just the tea, it was the opportunity to share in conversation.

Conversation....sometimes we forget that's the most important part of sharing the Gospel.  Today someone stopped in my office and I have to tell you it was so amazing. I have the most amazing job in the world....literally even when it is crazy it is amazing...even when I forget, it is still amazing.  It is amazing because I have the honor of listening to the part of persons lives that they so rarely share with others.  I get to listen to the part of their lives that they work so hard for others to not see (not in a negative way but in the way that it protects them on many levels for persons not to know or see this part of their lives).  I get to listen...I get to watch the tears of frustration come bubbling to the surface...I get to watch as they accept the new mercies that await them each and every day...I get to walk them in a ways that so many others do not.

Today has not been what I expected...neither has this week for that matter but the thing is that the good news comes flowing out in the places that we least expect it.  The goodness of our Lord comes pouring upon us when our minds are on other things.  The amazing grace of Jesus comes pouring upon us in the moments when our stomaches are empty and our minds are swimming....then again I think that's what ministry is all about.

Thank you Holy One for the week of the unexpected...thank you for allowing me to share such amazing news...thank you for allowing me to stand with persons on this journey of faith.