Ok, so I know more than anyone else that at times people are disagreeable. Since my stroke I have had more instances of my emotions being, for lack of a better phrase, wacky. There are times when my kids are enough to drive me crazy (My wife says that is not a drive, it is a short putt). I am just glad to be here to be driven crazy by them! During those times I try to isolate what causes me to get that way and avoid the situation. What I am doing is not avoiding the situation, I am avoiding the emotions the situation causes. For instance, if I feel myself getting irritated, I simply detach myself from the situation as soon as possible. It reminds me of something Jesus taught on the sermon on the mount. He was talking about sending his disciples as sheep to the slaughter. But, the application is the same: Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. (Matthew 10:16) Now, I believe that if every person, in every situation would live by THAT verse, it would virtually eliminate all strife. So, the next time you feel yourself, stroke or otherwise, getting into a situation where the emotions are escalating, remember that we are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Can we honestly say that we can be categorized that way in every circumstance?
It has been nearly 6 years since I have updated this blog; my apologies. For those that had been following for some time, since I last posted: I stepped down as Senior Pastor at New Covenant church in Knoxville, I moved to Ankeny, Iowa, started a new ministry with St. Croix hospice as Chaplain. I was chaplain with St. Croix for about 4 1/2 years, then in 2020 I moved back to Stratford to pastor First Baptist church. It was a big change going from chaplain work back to the pastorate. I must confess, when I first came (back) to Stratford I was ready to pastor again! I love preaching; I love the ministry of being a pastor, and I love interacting with people long-term. (Being a chaplain is great, but you only interact with a family for a week or so, for some a little longer, but there was a constant upheaval of people and it was exhausting at times...) But, one thing that I have noticed since my stroke is that I get my feeling hurt easily. For instance, people leave the church all the tim
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