>It never ceases to amaze me how many different hats a pastor has to wear. I’ve been working on a sermon out of Rev 3:1-6 this week for my church, and I have been challenged (yes, by my own sermon) to really live out a sincere obedience to the Lord. Well, as it always seems to be, whenever I am considering and reflecting on something, it seems the Lord gives immediate opportunity to test it out. Last Thursday, I had probably one of the fullest and most packed days I can remember in a long time.
However, the thing that impacted me the most was not the set things in my schedule, but the unexpected – what many people might consider interruptions. In between my meetings, I went to Starbucks with Mark Kang and as I picked up my drink, a random guy just started talking to me, telling me how his hand was hurting from filling out a ton of job applications. As per my post from last week, I decided to find out about his story. I made a mental decision to ask him questions and to listen – to find out what his motivations and desires were. I made this decision as a means to apply some thoughts from an earlier blog post on listening.
Here’s what I found out:
- he had just moved to Wheaton two days ago
- he was living in Schaumburg, working as a server at Papadeaux’s
- being a server was not his life ambition, but a quick way to earn some money. Instead, he wants to become a drug/alcohol rehab counselor, and will be starting a class in the fall.
- just last week he celebrated his one year anniversary of being clean – and next Wednesday is his 26th birthday
- he was looking for a way to meet new people (I suggested a church, and he responded with a blank look on his face, then quickly changed the subject).
- he moved to Wheaton to help his sick grandmother b/c family is everything he’s got.
- he has no car, works out at 7:00 am (after completing a watchmen shift of being with his grandmother from midnight to 6:45), then comes to the Starbucks to catch the bus to Naperville