It had been 535 days since the Porvenir church had come together to worship, or do anything else for that matter. Sunday, September 5, 2021 was our big day!
You may recall that after 31 years as pastor, I handed over the leadership of the church to our son Oliver. We did that over a transition period that went from the halfway point of 2018 until the final day of 2020. On January 1 of this year, I was no longer pastor. I did not retire from ministry; I simply chose to have one job less.
The morning, as we were running around the house getting ourselves ready for service (“Who’s in the baño?”) Rajim (13 years old) asked me, “Dad, does it make you feel sad to be going and to know you are not the pastor?” That stopped me in my tracks, what was I thinking (the males out there will want to know), and what was I feeling (that is for you ladies!)?
I examined my mind and heart, and responded to Rajim, “I am happy. I trained a team of people, and now they are doing one great job.”
And then we went to the meeting, and I worshiped and prayed and listened and did not worry about if it was too hot or too cold, if the music was too loud or if the mic was shorting out, if the toilets were plugged or working fine.
Ahh, so very sweet!