Sabbatical

It is hard to believe it has been so long since I last posted! I guess you can say things have been a wee bit busy. Oh well, thankfully it was a "good busy".

Since my last post, I have almost officially survived Sabbatical. The Pastors will be returning Wednesday of this upcoming week; I think I am ready for their return. The secretary and I have found a new norm in the office, and it will definitely be an adjustment to go back to how things were originally. I did miss them though, and look forward to working with them again. They are truly amazing supervisors.

To my surprise, things were very quiet over the last month. I never would have thought I would describe the month on my own as smooth, but really, it was! Yes, my first Sunday I did have a surprise in the supply Pastor not coming, leaving me approximately two hours to write a sermon. The following week I lost my voice as a result of strep throat FIVE MINUTES before my first service. That was most certainly not the smoothest of services. But really, those were the biggest crisis'. I also made a bad mistake that was embarrassing and a good learning experience. We won't go into that, but I will say I learned from it, nothing life-altering happened, and I think things are okay. It was something I had to be reminded of and I am glad it happened the way it did. So, if these were the worst things to happen on sabbatical, life is good.

I discovered during this month that I am more capable than I have ever given myself credit for. The Holy Spirit, to my surprise, really has I believe chosen me for this form of ministry. I am not captive to my insecurities but instead am captive to being a servant of Christ. This is probably the greatest lesson I have learned thus far. So often, I find myself looking at my life with so much humility that I forget what a great creation God has made in me. I learned I need to stop focusing so much on what I am not gifted in and see the gifts that are there to be used for the glory of God. It is truly amazing to discover how great we really are because of whose we are.

So, as you can see, it has been a good month. I have been supported, loved, prayed for, and equipped with newfound gifts through serving in this congregation. I could not be more blessed with being assigned to this internship site, and I am looking forward to seeing where I go next.

Speaking of where I go next, that part of my life is drawing eerily close. This upcoming June, I will be given the packet to write my approval essay. This is the final step of the candicacy process to be approved for ordination. It is scary yet exilariting to finally be here. It is during the writing of this long long long long essay that I will also have to be thinking about and praying about what region I would like to be assigned to. I have an idea of where I would like to be, but really need to focus in on discerning if this is my desire or God's. I ask that you would join me in praying that God would guide this whole process. I know that wherever I am placed (and honestly I do not have much of a say), God will do ministry through me and in turn I will be blessed. It is just so hard to let go of my own desires and open myself up to the possibility I may have to yet again relocate to an entirely new place. Big moves are hard!

Alright, I am off to get myself ready for tonight's service. Hope you are all doing well.