Auld Lang Syne
The good thing about being in a long pastorate is, you really grow to love your people. The bad thing about being in a long pastorate is... you really grow to love your people. Today I was reminded of how hard it is on the emotions to love them, and how much it means to have them love me too.
Pete, our most faithful, loyal member, stopped in to see me with his son-in-law. You see, they've been trying for weeks to get him to agree to a pacemaker. Today the doctor said they need to do it NOW. Pete is 87, and has been slowing down tremendously, but still keeps working hard at church. He opens up every Sunday and makes sure things are set up right. He picks up afterward and locks up when everyone's gone. The church is his life, and he does all he can for this congregation and for his pastor. When I came to Martin Luther, he wasn't so sure about this whole "woman pastor" thing. But now I think I can honestly say Pete loves me more than anyone else in that whole congregation - which is saying a lot! Every time he says good-bye he tells me he loves me - just like my Dad does.
Anyway, I digress... Pete has been slowing down even more than usual lately, and it seems that has a lot to do with the fact that his heart rate is half what it should be. Hence the need for the pacemaker. But he doesn't want to do that - he wants them to fix the other stuff wrong with him, not realizing its all connected. So he wanted to talk to me about it and get my advice. I talked to him about how this is not to make his life longer, but to make his life better. After some more involved conversation, he agreed to get the pacemaker. And Billy, his son-in-law, was relieved to finally hear him agree.
So as we prayed and hugged and told each other we love each other, it hit me how hard it is to love so many people sometimes. Not hard in the difficult sense, but hard because there are always good-byes and risks and so much involved.
Just after that, I was going through an old directory with a couple of women in the office, and seeing so many people whose funerals I've done over the years there. I also really saw how much older so many of those folks are now than they were just before I got there (when this directory came out.) Time does march on, and it's not always kind. We've been very fortunate the last few years to have very few funerals in the congregation. Somehow I have the feeling that may not be the case this year.
So yes, it is good to grow to love my people so much, but it's hard too. And yet, I wouldn't change a thing about that. Because with the love comes blessing. Every one of these people has blessed me in some way - some more than others. So on this New Year's Eve, as I consider the year past and the year to come, I thank God for all those people (even the ones that really ARE hard to love.) Auld Lang Syne!
Pete, our most faithful, loyal member, stopped in to see me with his son-in-law. You see, they've been trying for weeks to get him to agree to a pacemaker. Today the doctor said they need to do it NOW. Pete is 87, and has been slowing down tremendously, but still keeps working hard at church. He opens up every Sunday and makes sure things are set up right. He picks up afterward and locks up when everyone's gone. The church is his life, and he does all he can for this congregation and for his pastor. When I came to Martin Luther, he wasn't so sure about this whole "woman pastor" thing. But now I think I can honestly say Pete loves me more than anyone else in that whole congregation - which is saying a lot! Every time he says good-bye he tells me he loves me - just like my Dad does.
Anyway, I digress... Pete has been slowing down even more than usual lately, and it seems that has a lot to do with the fact that his heart rate is half what it should be. Hence the need for the pacemaker. But he doesn't want to do that - he wants them to fix the other stuff wrong with him, not realizing its all connected. So he wanted to talk to me about it and get my advice. I talked to him about how this is not to make his life longer, but to make his life better. After some more involved conversation, he agreed to get the pacemaker. And Billy, his son-in-law, was relieved to finally hear him agree.
So as we prayed and hugged and told each other we love each other, it hit me how hard it is to love so many people sometimes. Not hard in the difficult sense, but hard because there are always good-byes and risks and so much involved.
Just after that, I was going through an old directory with a couple of women in the office, and seeing so many people whose funerals I've done over the years there. I also really saw how much older so many of those folks are now than they were just before I got there (when this directory came out.) Time does march on, and it's not always kind. We've been very fortunate the last few years to have very few funerals in the congregation. Somehow I have the feeling that may not be the case this year.
So yes, it is good to grow to love my people so much, but it's hard too. And yet, I wouldn't change a thing about that. Because with the love comes blessing. Every one of these people has blessed me in some way - some more than others. So on this New Year's Eve, as I consider the year past and the year to come, I thank God for all those people (even the ones that really ARE hard to love.) Auld Lang Syne!
posted by Kris at 12/31/2008 07:51:00 PM
2 Comments:
I can definitely relate. I'll have to come back and read again:)
Thank you! And thank you for reminding me I need to write on here more often too. I started it when on sabbatical and daily writing was easy then. Not so much now. It's hard to get into the pattern when I'm not intentional like I was able to for that 3 months.
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