Morning Moments

Jesus said, "In this world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Trials, tests, tribulation and trouble come in many forms. Some are expected and some are unexpected. Some are common to us all, but some are very strange indeed. Allow me to share two or three of them with you that you might not have experienced. We all have them.

1. She had made is clear that she wanted her father's funeral to be short and sweet. "None of this God stuff," she said. So the message was passed on to the minister. She just wanted people to know what a "good" man her father was. Telling a minister of the gospel not to mention God is like telling a child not to eat candy given to him. So the preacher began his comments with prayer. "God," he said, at which time she jumped up and screamed "NO"! and ran her finger across her throat to convey the idea of "cutting it off." He did not say another word. At the graveside, she asked if any friend or family member desired to say anything about her father. The funeral director waited patiently for someone to say something, but not a word was spoken. With her abrupt "NO", she had said it all and there was nothing left to say. I know you may find this hard to believe but it is true and just another one of those things that happens to us preachers once in awhile.

2. She was the church bookkeeper, a paid staff member but also a member of the church. She had been complaining about some of the members and what they gave to the church. I reminded her that it was none of her business, and that she was getting bitter about this. One day she walked into my office with her resignation. That is always a bit disturbing for a pastor, because it is the nature of other church members to think there is "trouble" with the pastor. I did not beg her to reconsider. I thanked her for the job she had done and prayed with her. The following weekend, there was a wedding and at the reception afterwards her husband walked up to me. I stuck out my hand to shake and he handed me an alabaster donkey and said, "Take this and remember this is what I think of you." I replied, "Thank you for being such a fine Christian gentleman." Not long afterwards they went through a mighty storm and I stood with the through it all. He never apologized, nor was it necessary for him to do so. I was their pastor, and I loved them. We became closer after that.

3. They came to me for pre-marital counsel. They were a perfect picture of young newlyweds and I adored them both. I knew they would have a great marriage, but I never expected what I learned in the counseling sessions. I learned that her sister was her mother and that her nephews were her brothers and that her parents were her grandparents. I had better explain that one. Her mother had become pregnant out of wedlock, so her mother's parents reared her as a sister to her mother. So when her mother had a couple of sons who were her brothers, they were her nephews. Obviously, her parents were not her parents at all, they were her grandparents.

One of the things I have appreciated most about the pastoral ministry through the years are these little life experiences that those not in ministry never have and that most in ministry rarely see. This is my conclusion: AIN"T GOD GOOD! ALL THE TIME!