Heavy Lifting

I did the children's sermon at church today, and had a good time. I talked about pets, which is, I'm convinced, one of the quickest ways to make a connection, regardless of the age of your audience.

In this case, I compared Jesus the Good Shepherd to Kids the Good Pet Owners. I hope the kids walked away with the idea that Jesus loves them as much as they love their pets. I fear they may have walked away with the idea that Jesus considers us His pets.

That's the trouble with talking metaphorically.

Nevertheless, the experience caused me to think about my career options. I've never considered being a pastor because I grew up in a religious institution that only had male clergy. So, it truly never occurred to me that I could to be a pastor.

I've also never considered being a rodeo clown, professional poker player, or a Rockette, despite the fact that these are also options available to women. They are simply not options for this woman. So, let's call a spade a spade: it's possible that I've not considered ministry for reasons beyond my chromosomes.

I know that I could not be a pastor because I would be frustrated with the glacial pace of reform, I would cringe at the endless meetings, I would not be able to thoughtfully address questions of faith, and black makes me look all washed out and ghoulish.

But, it would be fun to be a pastor if my sole job was to do baptisms and children's sermons. That I could handle.

I'm grateful that I had the chance today to try something new, and I'm even more grateful that there are people, like my pastors, who do the heavy and tedious lifting so that I can do the fun stuff.