Accidental Ministry

I used to tell people I was an accidental youth director. It was never part of the big picture plan that I had back when I was into planning my life. Only certain types of people went into ministry and I was not one of those people. I wasn't being called. Nope, not me.

Or was I?

In high school, we took career aptitude tests as juniors. I was so very excited to take mine! Finally some direction. I was an honor student, college bound, ready to take on the world. My test came back with a 98% match to...housewife.

Today, in retrospect, I take that as a compliment. Being home full-time, managing a house and a family is a huge responsibility and a tough gig. At the time, I believe I may have cried.

And yet, being home with my family is very rewarding and, quite frankly, I'm good at it. I have learned about caring, nurturing, budgeting, balancing, stretching and trusting far more at home than I would have somewhere else. Only God could have foreseen that as training ground for the challenges along the way.

I've worked at the front desk of a motel, where I learned about all types of different people, community help organizations, the kindness of strangers and the way to get good deals. I worked at the library where I learned the ins and the outs of the system, how to find just about anything I needed on any subject. What a budget stretcher, for me personally and for the ministry.

I thought I was going to leave youth ministry and stay on at the library, but God had other plans. In this last year it became the library job that was causing the scheduling problems and making our home and family life difficult, not the ministry. God whispered, "Stay," and so I did.

It wasn't an accident. I'm standing here, looking at the vast expanse of ministry before me, and realizing that each step along the way was in part preparing me for what I am supposed to be doing...and being with the youth, being in ministry, is the next step in the ongoing journey.

Youth ministry may not be the destination, but it is the next part of the plan. There's more out there, waiting for me. God has me here, right now, for a reason and it is my responsibility to soak up what I can and move forward as I wait for the next page of the map to unfold.