Work-y Work

People keep asking me, looking at me sideways and with a very strange expression, "How is your new job going?" This includes my mom, my bishop, assorted bishop's assistants, my running partner, and my mother-in-law. All with the strange expression and the sideways look.

See below blogs for details, but y'all, I haven't had the best experiences at my jobs. There's been stuff involving demon possession and senior pastors saying things that I could sue them for, and I am dead-on serious on both counts. So when people are asking me how my job is going, I don't blame them for being a little bit scared. Especially when it's something I said I'd never do again, which is be an associate pastor.

And I answer them, "It's going really well." And the shocking thing is, I totally mean it. After my lovely spa days (despite the drive) at lovely little rural church where I just wanted to go ahead and curl up and retire, I feel really good about ministry again. I feel really freaking fabulous about ministry, preaching, youth work, and all kinds of things that just made me want to put my head under a pillow about two years ago.

I've preached twice, and both times people have tearily told me that they were SO glad I was there. I've shown up for work and enjoyed the office and the staff, and I've planned some classes that I'm totally excited about (Bible study plus Couch to 5K, anyone?). I've even gone on some visits with the senior pastor, which I would have totally rolled my eyes at and gotten all huffy, and instead it was nice to have someone to talk to and to visit with, and someone to introduce me to the old folks instead of going in cold.

So that's it in a nutshell: it's going really well. You can look at me sideways with your weird expression and ask, and I'll look you in the eye and tell you that I'm shocked too, and I expect it all to end tomorrow, but I'm really loving my new job. Who would have thought?