My Part of the Conversation

We had a great vacation.  Spending some time with good friends and reconnecting with my family was a great way to cap off the summer.  We played in the pool, built sand castles, swam in the ocean, ate some good food, played board games (I won Risk twice!), and I even got to break away with the guys and see the Bourne Ultimatum.  Overall, it was a great weekend.

I’m happy to be back, too.  I’ve been planning out the year, something I didn’t do well last year.  It’s exciting to think of all the possibilities and potential the year will bring!

Hopefully, I’ll also get into a better rhythm for posting, too…

I’m tired.

It’s been a great summer, but it’s been a long summer.

This year, I sent Kate and the kids to stay with her family a few weeks and my family a few weeks while I went to the camps, events, and mission trip to Honduras we had planned for this summer.  While it helped her get the help she needs with 2 little ones and allowed me to spend  lots of time with the teens, it made the summer drag out.  It was hard without them waiting for me at home.   Summer is just a busy time, but next year we’ll try something different.
On the youth ministry front, I thought it was a good summer.  The Honduras mission trip was hands-down the best event I’ve ever done with youth.  I saw them grow and give and learn in so many different ways.  I was honored to be part of it all, and proud to be walking with them during that time.

Now, it’s time to look at next year.  The last few days, I’ve been pouring over school calendars, church calendars, member databases, event evaluations- and I’ve realized something: I’m tired.

While looking over the past year and remembering all that happened, I look over this next year and imagine all the classes I will teach, flyers I will design, announcements I will make, pizzas I will eat, LSU football games I will watch, fights I will need to have, apologies I will have to make,  meetings, confrontations, counseling sessions, funerals, weddings, and concerts I will attend.  Most of it is unknown at this point and impossible to plan or prepare for, just as last year was unknown and impossible to plan or prepare for.  The good, the hard, the heartbreaking, and the inspiring- they all flow together to make ministry and life what it is.

Being in ministry is an incredible honor.  Getting to watch young people grow into adults, to develop and understand and learn about who God is and what He wants for them is incredible.  It’s humbling and scary to recognize the responsibility we all have in helping them along.

As I look forward, I’m tired.  This weekend, we’re going to go to the beach with a few friends to rest and reconnect as a family.

And hopefully this fatigue will be overcome by the seeds of excitement that are already welling up inside me.