26 years ago - so thin!!!
Yesterday marked the completion of 36 years full time for me
in the ministry for our wonderful, faithful Savior. I have enjoyed the journey
so very much. Please allow me to relish in my lot for a bit.
I really wish there were more to show for the labor, but I
will leave that up to the count of the One Who counts when He reveals what is
gold, silver and precious stones and what is wood, hay and stubble.
I have to wonder, if I hadn’t answered the call to ministry
and set off from Goat Roper, Colorado to Los Angeles back in August of ’78 in
my Chevy Nova, what would I have missed out on?
A beautiful and wonderfully gifted wife of who I am
unworthy, a wonderful set of children whom I love with all my heart, a
fantastic church of “salt of the earth” saints who allow me to be their under shepherd
and so very much more.
I think (with a very grateful heart) of the souls that have
professed Christ as Savior over these 3 and a half decades, and I got to have
some small part in introducing them to the Redeemer.
With great fondness and appreciation, I think of all the
wonderful servants of God with whom I have had the high privilege of rubbing
shoulders. These are people you could “ride the river with.” Saints, every one
of them! I have more friends than any man could ever deserve or hope to enjoy.
The fellowship with these people down here serves to heighten my imagination of
what Glory will be like when we will talk and reminisce and worship and praise
side by side for all of eternity.
Then there are the places, and the things that happened in
those places! If it hadn’t been for the ministry, I can’t imagine I would have
been at all those youth camps, on those foreign mission fields, in all those
churches, hundreds of them, big and small, meeting ten thousands of His saints.
I admit to having a great wanderlust. Novel places, new people, different
cultures, fresh experiences…these things serve to crank my engine. I will never
forget visiting the chapel in Canada made completely of whiskey bottles, kneeling
at the base of Mt. Calvary or baptizing a new believer in the world’s largest
baptistery, the Pacific. Laying down in the back seat of a taxi under cover of
darkness while sneaking through Palestinian strongholds, that is a
nerve-wracking, thrilling experience I will always treasure.
Ministry has
afforded me the opportunities to travel the moonscapes of West Texas, watch
whales from the bow of a ferry in the Sea of Cortez, stand atop the sacred Ute
Mountain where whites are forbidden, stare in wonder at the grandeur of the
Sistine Chapel ceiling, drink coffee in Bedouin tents, dig a baptistery in the mountainous
jungle, wind my way through volcanic coffee plantations, ride out Central
American earthquakes, view erupting volcanoes, sing on stage in Branson, walk
on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
Still, I have to go back to the people. They are what make
the past 36 years so worth the incredible journey. Preachers, mentors, missionaries,
church folk, friends, family, colleagues and average Joes who have enriched my
life and His ministry beyond measure; these are the champions of my life’s
story. Good, godly, gracious and giving. I love those with whom I serve our
Lord. I so appreciate those in chaplaincy and who are part of our law
enforcement and fire-fighting community for their collegiality. I adore my family
who see not only my public persona, but the real me, and yet love and support
me so.
But, the greatest Hero of all is the One Who makes it all
possible and worthwhile, and He, of course, is my Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. To Him be all glory, honor and praise. He gives reason and rhyme to chaotic
lives. He provides purpose to an aimless existence. He chooses the base, the
vile, the unable, the dregs, the introvert, the cast off. He makes of them comely
instruments of the orchestra which play the symphony of His glory. For 36
years, this clarinet has squeaked and squawked in that holy band, proud to be a
small part of something so grand, so eternal.
Thank you, Jesus! Thanks for allowing me to be a part of
your work and for the grace to make a small difference.
3 comments:
Wow! I'm tired. I traveled all over the world in those few minutes. Great Blog my dear friend, I enjoyed it. "Lord, give him another ... many years of serving You.
Mat 25:20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
Mat 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Thank you for your service to Christ Jesus and all those who you have shepherd. Today's lesson on Spiritual Navigation in Our Daily Bread seems to capture how you have lived your life, "With God as your navigator your're headed in the right direction". Praised The Lord and may we all navigate our lives with God at the helm.
COL Doug
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