Reprise

As the title of this post suggests, the following thoughts--although mine--are not new. I jotted them down awhile ago, during a challenging "niche transition."


Walkin' in the Light

Were you a fan of "The West Wing?" I was. I enjoyed watching the fictional President Josiah Bartlet and his staff deal with all the crises that came up while they were trying to run a Superpower. Yesterday I was reminded of a frequent line from that show: "We serve at the pleasure of the President."

Lately I've been happily involved in a couple of ministries: a regular Monday midday meeting with my prayer partner, and the facilitation of a weekly neighborhood Bible study. This past Monday, the first ministry had to be suspended indefinitely, and the second was jeopardized. I was inclined to seek out my comfortable old friend, the pit of "I'm not good enough." I likened it to my tension headaches; they hurt but I've had them so long, they've become an accepted part of my life. And so it was with that old pit.

Yesterday, though, while I stood at the edge of my pit, poised to jump, I realized how painfully inconvenient it really is in there. There's no light. No ladder either. Can't see much, and it's always so hard to climb back out. So I asked the Lord if there might be a different place to go this time. That's where "The West Wing" came in. God seemed to drop that line into my spirit, replacing the word "President" with "King." "We serve at the pleasure of the King." Meet for prayer or pray alone, lead a study or not, stay in a certain town or move on; it's all at the discretion of our Commander in Chief. Step by step, He leads us. Isn't that liberating? Seal the pit; I can't follow if I'm stuck in there. Besides, I'm lovin' my walk in the Light!