Vocational Discernment part 344

I love my job.

I love preparing sermons.

I love drinking too much coffee.

I love talking to parishioners.

I love love love giving away free bread and wine every week.

I love praying for healing for the broken parts of people.

I love it all.

Love it.

So yeah, I think I'm supposed to be a pastor.

But not just because of that stuff...that's all external action.  There's a whole internal dynamic to this thing that also just jazzes me to no end.

Nadia and I talked about what being a pastor means...and part of it is being hyper self-aware.  I believe the illustration that was used was as follows:

Everyone has their shit, piled up around their ankles...or knees...or waist.  And the job of the pastor is to shovel up their own shit, not just move it behind them, but scoop up the pile, deal with it, and understand it.  If the pastor doesn't do that, then they run the risk of people that come to them stepping in the pastor's shit.  Or worse, digging through it themselves.

And no one wants to have to shovel a pastor's shit when they come to them.

So that has me thinking, what is the pile of shit that surrounds me?  I'm thrilled at the prospect of the difficult, but necessary work of shit shoveling.  And don't worry...I'll spray some air freshener before I start....