I’ve had a realization lately – that I have a tiny inkling of what it feels like to be a pastor.
I was talking to a friend about seeing “results” when it comes to raising children. Both my friend and I are result-driven and always like to do well at everything they do. You write a paper in school, you get a grade. Your boss gives you a task, you complete it and can see the work you accomplish. You’re asked to sing or play a song and you practice and give it as close to a 100% performance as you can.
But, as most of you probably already know, it takes a LONG time for us parents to see fruits of our labour. As a first time mom, this feels overwhelmingly true. Is all my work doing such and such paying off, including all my work “worrying” about certain things? Of course, we are reminded all the time about the few benefits and “sin” of worry, but parenting requires a little bit of worrying about at least a little bit of our children’s well-being – otherwise we probably wouldn’t be good parents at all.
But for a results-driven person like me, it is difficult sometimes when your “accomplishment” or result for today was that your daughter slept for 45 minutes instead of her usual half hour, or your son only wore one outfit today instead of three, and other such seemingly menial “achievements”. And it may take months, years, or NEVER to see if any hard work parenting was worth the effort, worth the worry…
My husband is a pastor, and funny that the last couple of weeks it’s come up a few different times discussing how he wants to get out and DO something where he sees immediate results. Wash the van. Mow the lawn. Fish (although, that may be a poor example if you are like me and have absolutely no patience for a sport like that). And now I’m starting to understand the why of that desire. Ministry, like parenting, requires a whole lot of work with seeing little results, or if you’re so blessed, some delayed results. No matter what kind of ministry you’re in, this is usually the case – if you teach Sunday School or Youth Group or lead the Praise Team or are on the church’s council.
But imagine if it’s your full-time JOB. If you get paid to work long hours and see very little results, and in some cases (because the devil works this way sometimes) see ADVERSE results and face difficulties. It takes a whole lot of confidence in the work of the Holy Spirit and trusting in God’s hand at work…
So I guess that’s also the answer to my feelings of parenting at the moment (which will probably continue until I’m 104). Like a minister or anyone working in ministry has to have patience and trust God’s working hand, so I have to trust that the work I put in every day as a mom, no matter how menial I think it is, is truly for a greater, God-given purpose, and that I can rest and trust in that.
I am not a pastor (and there are a lot of reasons for that!), but today I have gained a little bit more respect for those that are... as well as for anyone who's ever been a parent! :o)
