Skip to main content

People In Our Lives

This summer has been one for a lot of reflection; some good and others bad. Everyone has their own obstacles to overcome and I'm no stranger to this. This has been a summer full of people coming and going. Some have caused me tears and frustration while others have been a breath of fresh air and nourishing to my soul.
To borrow a saying from Tyler Perry's movie/play "Madea Goes To Jail" people are like trees. Some people are like leaves, the wind blows they're over here and then the wind blows again and they're over there. At the end of the season they wither up and go away. Some people are like the branches, they may appear to be strong but once you go out there with them they break and you're left hanging or falling. But other people they're the trunk and the roots. They're grounded; they're looking out for you and your best interest. When something doesn't go so well between the two of you they at least find a way to say sorry. Not many people will be like the trunk or the roots. That's okay…people are who people are and you can't change that. But all you need are a few good roots and you can survive pretty much anything.
May we all find the roots we need to keep us grounded, nourished and cared for. Remember that some people are only in our lives for a season and that's okay. They may get us through a small portion of life and then they've served their purpose. Help us all not be hurt in their departure and to find the positives while they were in our lives.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Political vs. Partisan in Preaching

For years now, I have heard in preaching and clergy circles about being political in sermons; the good, the bad and those who state that church shouldn’t be political. There are workshops, books, and podcasts talking about politics in the church with a variety of opinions. What do people mean when they make the statement that the church shouldn’t be political? The IRS has the most say about the rules for the separation of church and state/politics. If your church wants to be tax exempt, there are rules: don’t endorse any candidate or party, if you allow one party to use your space, other political parties also must be allowed to use the space, etc. The UCC’s general counsel, Heather Kimmell, has a webinar on this topic if you’d like to hear a more detailed explanation which can be found on the UCC’s YouTube channel. Churches have gotten “creative” in how to get around this, often partnering with another non-profit group to give support to a particular group. The UCC is proud to claim...

A Day in the Life: A Minister and Forgiveness

 I shared in one of my last blogs that I had complaints lodged against me by a small group in my congregation. Most seem to have moved on after our group meeting, where I apologized for a lot of things - probably more then I should have had too. But I'm the professional in those settings so I did it.  I'm not being told, second hand, that two of those in that meeting want a one on one apology from me because what I said in the meeting wasn't good enough. This is the couple who cursed in my church, have flat out lied about me and have repeatedly stated that the only outcome they're willing to accept is my termination.  Let me explain why I won't be having a one on one meeting with this couple and I won't be giving any more apologies. First, lets start with the apology part. I have apologized for my actions - maybe my misinterpretations is a better term. Based off of their actions and words, I communicated with the proper board/committee and asked for consensus ab...

The Okayist Pastor - Weekly Reflection 6/13/25

The things - the things. As I try to think of how I want to start this post I'm stuck on the words "the things..." Yesterday I had a member come talk to me, who was talking to me on behalf of another member, who had apparently called the vice moderator of the congregation. That's a whole lot of triangulation that I'm not even going to touch on this blog because that's a whole other blog.  I was told that because I had set out the roses for the confirmands on Sunday (because I had to set out their certificates, stoles, robes, and other gifts from the congregation) and I had filled pitchers with water and put them in the refrigerator while I was waiting on people to drop off things to the church so we had cold water for a funeral reception, I was over stepping and had offended a member. This comes flying at me after I had people write formal letters of complaint to my denominations oversight group because I wrote thank you notes last fall to members who returned...