Retirement

Going through the junk you've accumulated over the years can be very enlightening. In looking back this week I've noticed that all the plans I originally had entering ministry, or even entering a particular call, never seemed to work out. Sometimes the plans got sidelined by other events; more often they are outright ignored by, apparently, everyone around me; sometimes I just got tired. Those can, and do, lead to feelings of failure. On the other hand, though, looking back you were able to see where things happen that you had never planned. Perhaps you thought coming to an ordinary congregation and you planed to really 'get it going' – but when you arrived you found a deeply divided and conflicted congregation (which might be the definition of 'ordinary'), and somehow you were able to bring about some peace and unity. It's all too easy to look at the failure of your own plans and conclude that everything has been a failure. However, it's better to be able to look back and see how God has used you in ways you never expected or recognized at the time. As I've heard said a number of times in the past couple decades, God does not command us to be successful; He only commands us to be faithful.