emotion and insight

I've said it before and I'll say it again- one of the hardest parts of the whole pastoral gig for me is the never-ending on the job training when real lives, real families and real futures are at stake.

Sitting with a couple in distress, wanting desperately to turn one heart towards the other, trying various tacks, seeing some movement, but not early enough, wondering... did one conversation change a little boy's life because it failed to change an adult's mind/heart?

Ahh... look at me putting on my Holy Spirit hat.

And yet, the idea that my choices and skills (or lack thereof) don't matter... can't quite get there either.

The choice to try to move from emotion to insight is a big one and the timing matters.
And like I say, I hate the fact that you learn how to do this gig right by doing it wrong... again and again.

Comments

[Doug]

I hear ya. Nothing like a daily dose of humility and a hint of desperation; by that I mean those screaming prayers you say under your breath to God saying "if you don't show up there's a world of hurt here!"

I don't mind learning... it's how steep the learning curve always is.
Blessings

[e. barrett]

I hate that feeling of wanting to do something, but not having a clue what to actually do. It's disheartening. And as Doug said, there is a steep learning curve.

But I guess that doesn't really matter in the end. As they say, someone has to do it. :)

[John Henson]

Good move. Typepad makes life easy.

[Brian]

Indeed. And I'd say this is part of the beauty of the body metaphor -- hand, foot, eye, etc. As a pastor I can imagine you'd feel you need to the master of all trades - and sometimes the job description calls for that. Hope you feel you have a supporting cast.