The second year

I am now in my second year as a pastor and boy is it different than the first. Last year at this time I felt bored with not enough to do. This year, I meet myself coming and going. Some of it is my own doing, some of it I've let be done to me, and the rest of it I guess is the reality of full time ministry with a family of five.

I'm not complaining. If I wasn't busy, then I know ministry wouldn't be happening. The struggle is finding the balance between ministry and family life. Doors are opening for our congregation and for myself as pastor and the hard part is choosing which doors to enter and which have to be left unexplored. I'm always afraid I'll miss something or the congregation will miss something. It's hard to trust that God is directing the paths when there are so many of them to choose from.

I'm drawn to Ecclesiates 3 and the idea that there is a time for everything. A couple months ago, my wife and I signed up for a weekend retreat for rural and small town pastors and their families. At the time, I signed up because the workshops sounded interesting. Now, I'm looking forward to the retreat. God surely does have a way of putting us in the right places.