This one is a very simple one. The lesson is Servanthood.
Simply put, it's been the discovery of the joy that can be found in serving others. This has found expression in a lot of ways. But a big element of it has been the fact that, after 15 years focused on my pastoral ministry, God gave me a season in which my role was to add value to the ministries of other people - our pastors (Al, Doyle and Brian), our Worship and Music specialist, Mark; our specialists in other ministries such as youth and childrens' ministries (John, Tamara and Bernadette); even the seminary interns (Lutherans call them vicars) who served with us for one year at a time. These guys weren't even finished with their degree, they were only with us a year each, none of them had even hit 30 yet - it woul have been easy to feel as if I'd been set aside (and sometimes I did feel that way). But over the last 10 years I have learned the blessing of lifting up the ministries of others instead of my own - to ask "How can I serve you today?" and really mean it. This is not the kind of lesson that came easily to me - not natural for me - but necessary. And I am grateful for the opportunity I had to learn it.
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