Many people seem to believe that being a minister means that I just wake up with a smile on my face, and that life is always good, “because I’m in the will of the LAWD!” But the truth about church work is that my day begins in the same way as the rest of the world. 

I wake up 8 minutes before my alarm was supposed to wake me up, and cant go back to sleep because I have to use the bathroom…

By the time I actually get up and reach the bathroom, my alarm is going off, and at this point, there’s nothing I’m going to do about it…

My alarm sounds like the warning sirens for a WWII Blitzkrieg, and as I clumsily grab my phone to turn it off, I yank the charger out of the wall, almost certainly fraying the wires inside the fragile chord, which will ensure that for the rest of the life of that phone, I will have to gingerly prop it up against the lamp to ensure a good connection. 

I blink my eyes open and try to remember what clothes are washed, and/or what clothes I could just wear again without anyone noticing. 

And then it hits me, “This is going to be a rotten day…”

However, the value of this day is a decision that I must make, regardless of the situation in which I find myself.  It is irrelevant to ponder how I might pay my bills after my wife’s employer canceled 2 nights of her work thus trimming what little fat we might have had for the month.  It is worthless to think about the hoops I must jump through to help ensure the stability of ministry, nor is it valuable to consider the upcoming schedule and the demands it will put on my life and family. 

The only thing that truly matters at this point is whether or not I am willing go give the future of my life, good and bad, to the Lord to work out for his glory.  I have no expectation of being famous, no desire to be powerful, no need to be wealthy, but the Lord I serve possesses all of these things, and He has adopted me into his family.  My wife, work, life, and family are all gifts from my Heavenly Father, and I am faced with a choice. 

I can choose to invest into each moment I am allowed to be here on the earth, or I can choose to despise the Father who allows it.  My choice, however, is no different than yours.  We must each choose to serve Jesus, or run from Him. There is no other option.