A Lesson from Dr. Seuss

I was sitting here wondering how I got to this place.  How did the little child in the white choir robe with the big red bow under her chin singing on the steps in the sanctuary at Fieldale UMC in the Danville District get to Nashville to serve as a director for the General Board of Discipleship?  When did I move from drawing really sad looking pictures on the blackboard as a teenager attempting to illustrate Sunday School lessons to younger children to trying to bring about lay leadership excellence? How could I have ever imagined when I told my advisor in college that I wanted to major in religion that I'd end up working for the denomination? Can't say that vocational path was considered as a 20-year old! For some reason this afternoon, all this pondering is reminding me of a quote from the world's greatest theologian, Dr. Seuss:  "You're on your own.  And you know what you know.  And you are the one who'll decide where to go."

We never know where God will lead us, what opportunities will present themselves or what roadblocks there may be along the way.  But, we do have to be the ones to decide where to go.  We can keep our focus inward, thinking only of our own best interests (or those of our local church).  We can limit the questions we ask and the people we build relationships with, or we can put our faith in God's unfailing grace, exploring all the possibilities for what lies ahead.  I may not know how I got to this place, but one thing is for sure:  that little girl singing on the steps was encouraged by many, many people to explore who God is and what church is really all about.  

During this Pastor's Appreciation Month, she has to give thanks for the clergy who recognized her gifts and nurtured them over the years. That little girl (and now middle aged woman) even has to be grateful for the ones who have made her angry, for each has pushed her to new understandings of what it means to be the church. More importantly, in this month of celebration of the ministry of the laity, she has to remember and celebrate all those laity who took the vows we repeat at every baptism seriously - to help one another learn what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.  I still may not know exactly what "lay leadership excellence" is, but I know the first step toward it is taking seriously our commitment to live every moment of each day as ministers of the Good News in our relationships, homes, churches, work settings, and community. It has to start there...and then we'll decide where to go.