I have a confession to make. Last Sunday I was really discouraged during our Sunday morning service at FOSM, REALLY discouraged… like the way a 16 year old feels when his girlfriend dumps him. Honestly, I just wanted to quit and go work a “bread truck” job… any job that I just work from 8 to 5 that I can completely forget about when I am not at work.
Sometimes I get discouraged. That’s normal. On occasion, I want to quit. Who doesn’t from time to time? Being a pastor can be discouraging… people stop coming or leave the church completely, people don’t feel like they should obey God, I don’t live up to my own expectations, people get mad at you or each other… but I don’t let that stuff bother me TOO much because I get to see lives changed! But this past Sunday I was really discouraged. I didn’t know why. Attendance was a little down. A few things didn’t go as planned. Nothing was that big of deal. I was discouraged until Tuesday morning. Then it hit me… SUNDAY WAS A BLIP! We’ve had a difficult year at times, but the last couple of months we have been growing again and seeing great things happen. Because of the momentum we have in the positive direction, I was discouraged because I thought one Sunday was a TREND. As soon as I thought the word “BLIP” my discouragement went away.
I really hope I learn from this experience to not be so dang near-sighted!