A Fun Morning

Today was one of those fun mornings that reminds me of why I love ministry so much. I went over to the church and started working on the bulletin for next Sunday. Then the phone started ringing. I talked to several people about relatively minor things. The conversations were pleasant interruptions from the computer.

I finished the bulletin and wrote a letter, and asked the secretary if she had the necessary names and addresses. She didn’t, but thought one of the youth did. One of the school districts is completing work on their new building, and won’t be starting until next Monday. There are several bored teens in towns. The secretary called three of them and invited them to come help us in the office.

Before the teen invasion, another woman stopped by. She is in town visiting, and wanted to show me a quilt she had made as therapy following her mother’s death. I had had the honor of walking with that family through the mother’s battle with cancer, and she wanted me to see her creation. It was beautiful. I asked her what was going on in her life, and we ended up sitting in the basement for a little while talking about her current challenges. We prayed and I gave her a couple of poems that she thought were helpful.

The teens had arrived, and we put them to work. They addressed envelopes, folded letters, and cut out shapes for Sunday School. I helped with the cutting. We talked, and were treated to music one had on her cell phone. We made plans for youth group this fall. I got a call from Daughter, who had a stomach ache. When she called the first time, I suggested she wait and see how she felt after lunch. She called again after lunch, and asked me to come get her. I doubt she’s sick, but think she may still be suffering some anxiety from the low blood sugars Sunday evening.

Somehow I ended up stopping and getting pizza to feed the teens while I was in town. Daughter sat and watched us eat, and didn’t complain. She knows that when she’s too sick to stay at work, she’s too sick for extra food and much too sick to watch TV. It has really cut down on the sick calls. Anyway, we sat and ate pizza and just talked. They left about 2:00. I hadn’t gotten everything I had planned done this morning, but I had had wonderful encounters with a number of different people, and for that I am grateful. A wise person once pointed out that ministry takes place in the interruptions. That was what I experienced this morning.