Friday, June 16, 2006

A New Beginning

Do you ever have times in your life when you feel like you just need a fresh start or a new beginning? That's how I feel in this season of my life. I am not sure why I have been feeling like this. And I am sure that these feelings are right, which is why I really haven't responded to them. Yet, I must admit, that these feelings for me real, and they have been pretty hard to shake. My life has been richly blessed by God. And I really don't have any legitimate reasons to complain. But there is an internal restlessness that I cannot explain, and that I cannot explain away. These feelings may be nothing more than the natural response of one who has reached the "middle miles" of ministry, having served my present pastorate for more than fifteen years now. So I keep running the marathon that the Lord has set before me.

Recently, I have described my feelings to a few friends in boxing terms. In boxing, there are knock-out artists, who can take you out with just one punch. I have faced some of those in my ministry, and have proven to have a pretty good chin. But in boxing, there are also those technical fighters who don't have big punching power, but they can take you out with an accumulation of punches over the course of the fight. I feel like I have been on the receiving end of quite a few jabs, at this point. But what do good fighters do in these situations. They keep fighting. And that's what I intend to do, with the help of God.

I know that this post is way more personal than anything I have ever written on this blog. Or, it feels that way, at least. I usually try not to write a post when I am thinking this way, lest I sound cynical. For the record, I am not. I do write this post with a vulnerable sense of candor, hoping that someone who reads this will be encouraged to keep fighting through the championship rounds. God is faithful.