Birthdays are a time to reflect back…and look ahead. Today I am halfway to 84 years old, so I
guess that makes me one of those 'middle aged geezers'!
I remember that summer of 1989 as I headed off to college
and the new life that would bring. I
planned to become an actuary (the person at an insurance company who plays with
numbers and calculates your rates) and life a calm, comfortable life. God led me down many other paths.
·
I never thought I would become a pastor. I still remember telling my dad, “You are a
smart guy. You could have done anything
you wanted with your life. Why did you
waste your time doing THIS?” I suspect
the Holy Spirit had a good chuckle over that.
I’m a smart guy. I could have
done many things with my life. God
called me to be a pastor and I absolutely love the work I do.
·
When I first told my mom that I planned to go to
seminary she asked me how I would afford it.
I flippantly replied, “I’ll get married and my wife will work me
through.” The next week I headed off to
a summer as a counselor at a Bible Camp…and I met Shannon for the first time. She worked as a nurse at the VA for my entire
four years of seminary, paying the bills as I studied and worked on the
maintenance crew. God provided.
·
When Shannon and I were married we agreed on
nearly everything but we never could pin down how large of a family we
wanted. I thought two kids sounded like
plenty. Shannon really wanted four. As things turned out we were able to have one…
and that is enough! For a while people
asked us if we thought of adoption, but I can’t imagine any family other than
the one that God gave us.
·
While I ran cross country in high school I hated
every minute of it. I did some running
in seminary and the years after and hated every minute of it. I never thought the day would come when I’d
not only go running for ‘fun,’ but I’d complete a half marathon. God has given me something that can lower my
stress and keep me in shape.
·
As a
young, rural pastor I always laughed at all the ‘church growth’
literature. Growing churches seemed to
be planted in growing suburbs, a very different dynamic than rural
America. I remember commenting, “Put me
in a growing suburb and I could grow a church.
How hard can it be?” Again, the
Holy Spirit chuckled a bit as ‘chance’ circumstances led me to Peace Lutheran
Church, a mission congregation in a growing bedroom community. I love this ministry!
·
I never imagined that Shannon and I would ever
become ‘job creators.’ She started
Treefrog Treasures on a lark, selling things on eBay back in 1999. It gave her something to do. One thing led to another…and another…and
suddenly she has become one of the leading toy soldier retailers in the world
with employees depending on her for their livelihoods. We are
able to take some of the income from that to really make a difference in the
world, feeding the hungry, funding seminaries, and supporting God’s work at
Peace!
·
I never dreamt that I would work on a bishop’s
staff. As a young pastor I ‘knew’ that I
was called to rural ministry for my whole career. So much for that!
·
Over nine years ago Shannon received her ovarian
cancer diagnosis. For over half of our
married life she has been battling it. God
has given our whole family the strength not simply to endure. In the midst of some pretty miserable treatments,
we have thrived!
Life hasn’t turned out anything like I thought it would. Sometimes God has chuckled at my ideas…other
times I suspect it was more of a full belly laugh! I truly thank God that I am where I am in
life.
As I look ahead I will still make plans for the second half
of my life, but I do so with a grain of salt.
God will likely open all kinds of unexpected doors for me.
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