Slowin'

My Monday, Wednesday, and Friday

Life change is crazy.  Since Sarah and I have been married there hasn't been a single year where we have had the same combination of jobs or the same number of occupants twice in a row.  Since we got married one thing has remained the same, I have always been employed full-time.  Cooper was born, I still got eight hours to myself during the day, Micah was born, same thing, we moved, I got eight hours of freedom from the madness of unpacking.  I always had an outlet at work to be able to sideline my thoughts and just do the work that I felt called to do.

Then last November happened, I came to a point in my life where I had to make a decision, I need to continue my education and it was going to be in either Seminary or in teaching.  After a ton of prayer and seeking the counsel of some of the people I trust the most in my life I decided that God was leading me away from full-time ministry.  Since then I have almost completed my Single Subject Credential for English, and am now working part time at Selma FBC as the High School Pastor.

In the past when things changed it was all about life speeding up, an addition to the family, an opportunity to speak somewhere, a new house, fixing a new house, selling a new house, etc. but this time the change is about slowing down, and it is one of the hardest adjustments I have ever had to make. I check Twitter about 70 times a day in between making meals for my kids and doing the laundry... again.  Slow is hard for me, especially when my wife is working but her heart is to be at home with her boys and I love my boys but I wasn't made to nurture them the way Sarah does, so I would prefer to work as she stayed home.  It makes it even harder.

I know as a Pastor I am supposed to have this whole, "be still and know that I am God," thing down, but I don't, not even close.  I have been forced to slow down, forced to wake up at 6 am when my boys do and have nothing to do but take care of them (which is huge job in itself) all day long.  I have no where to go because Sarah has the only car, it is too hot for the park right now, and I am not taking my kids to any play dates because that'd be awkward for me and the other guardian who I guarantee is female (you know they are female because a man wouldn't call it a play date, they would call it tackle football).

Regardless, God is teaching me to slow down and to remember what is most important in my life.  I have to go and save Cooper from a scary lion that doesn't exist.