Count Your Blessings
“I JUST WANT PIZZA!” Is what I found myself yelling in my car last week as I drove into the Pizza Hut parking lot last week. I know what you are thinking, “You can just get it to go and bring it home.” Right I can but I want the free refills, I want the air-conditioned restaurant, I want the social interaction that comes with eating out. I honestly feel myself getting more and more aggravated with Covid-19.
I go on Facebook and there it is. People have had ENOUGH!
Well, I obviously started a new role and position as a senior pastor and I thought, “what a strange way to begin this role.” I then began to think of how Covid-19 has helped me over the past 2 weeks.
As I describe this revelation please hear it as a response to my insecurities and not a judgment on anything else.
I was terrified to take this role. I never thought in a million year that I would ever be a senior pastor but here I sit, in the office I never thought I wanted. Then God told me that He has this and that I just had to be willing to listen for His voice and follow through. Here we are, 2 weeks in and there are 3 things I have realized, 1) I am slowly getting to know my new Family, 2) We have a new online presence that we would not have had if it were not for Covid-19, and 3) The building is still standing,
1) I had a plan coming in. That plan cannot work now because of this. But the plan I had scared me. I had to do things that I had not really had to do before, and I was afraid of being overwhelmed and hurting people’s feelings and just being bad at it.
This was no long as big of a stressor because covid-19 has slowed me down. It has given me more things to think about. It has given me tasks that I had to do that I know I am good at. So, I am still getting to know people, but it has to be a bit slower which at the moment is the pace I need and I am forced to also focus on things I know I can do well. It is 2 blessings in 1 - I still meet my new Family and I unwind as I learn.
2) The website is going to be a hub of communication for our Church and a way for people to get to know us before they even meet us. That is a strong advantage in this day. We would not have had the website as soon as we did without Covid-19. I was limited in what I could do in May so I was able to plug away at the site and get it ready for launch on June 1st. This made it possible for the other things that needed to be done. This again was another huge blessing.
3) I have been here 2 weeks and the building is still standing. It is kind of a joke but…I have an overactive imagination. I had these horrible images of fire and brimstone. Covid-19 caused me to slow my mind down and look at what is positive around me. I AM DOING IT! I made a huge transition in a strange time and it seems to be working. Due to the physical boundaries right now, I have to plan my days more carefully which is helps me to have better habits. I have met some WONDERFUL PEOPLE!!! Which makes me excited to meet the rest.
So, the reflection here is that we can be angry that Pizza Hut is not open yet for dinning in or I think the healthier approach is to try to find some sort of silver lining here. God can use all things for good. We just have to see where those areas are.
Thank you for hanging in with me!
~ Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ~