Need a new perspective?

Every now and then I pause, calmly consider my life, count my blessings, and admit to myself I need a new perspective. I sometimes feel in a rut, in the same ole routine and need to look at things differently. Mark Twain once wrote, "What, then, is the true Gospel of consistency? Change. Who is the really consistent man? The man who changes. Since change is the law of his being, he cannot be consistent if he sticks in a rut"

Perhaps one of the greatest joys I receive from my profession, my calling as a pastor in the United Methodist denomination, is that "change is the law of my being". Those mundane circumstances of routine and rut around me can at times become stale. Yet, it is the people surrounding me that change all that.

It is the meeting of a young couple excited about learning about God and finding out what it means to be in a relationship with Him with a desire to become members of the church. It is the absolute pleasure of meeings with a young man I've known for almost four years and his newly intended as we begin to plan their wedding. It is having members of the same family drive from Iowa and Colorado with their respective new borns and toddlers, over the course of several years, asking me to baptise them as the whole family comes together.

It is my own family - my beautiful wife and incredibly smart daughter - who bring the most change and variety into my life. That might mean leaving church to drive to Ft Atkinson to open Brenda's car because she locked her keys in the car :) Or Brenda treating me my favorite meal for supper time. It might mean Brenda and Grace stopping by church during the day to surprise me with a visit. It also means listening to my three year old take center stage at a musical recital as she plays her violin and in the process has all the parents laughing.

I read a different type of book than I might normally. I drive down a road I've never driven before. I dream of speaking in front of thousands, bringing the Word of God in a way that moves the hearts of the listeners. I think of adopting another child. I consider doing mission work in Mexico where I can continue to use and learn spanish.

Being in a rut can leave me feeling less than what God has made me for; I have wandered a bit from the path of God's intention for me. When I feel this way and in those rare, rare moments I question my roll as a pastor - is this the best way for me to help people reach God through Christ? I look to my daughter. And I follow her advice and stand on my head, I look at life differently, I see a different perspective and am given new life.

This is the perhaps the greatest joy in my life (besides my relationship with God and my wife); it is the relationship with my daughter who teaches me more each day. I love her and all she has to offer. I'm proud to be her papa.

peace out - as Gracie says to me every night I put her to bed.

Always faithful,

Patrick