[putting on an apron]

So here we are... one week of work down. I feel like I've been here for months. It's challenging, you know, managing everything and trying to be your best at work, contributing everything you can at home. It's not just challenging, it's exhausting, quite frankly. Being a grown up is hard. Manageable, most days, but hard.
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I've been going to church at Mt. Hollywood Congregational just a few miles from my house. The pastor, Rev. Rachel Cuipek-Reed is phenomenal. Her love and compassion and passion for the church and the congregation is more than evident in her words and actions. The church itself is small but has a huge spirit. Right now (read: it's summer) there are only a handful of people but it is incredibly diverse. I love it. Today Rachel preached on Jeremiah's call AND Jesus healing on the sabbath. It was a perfect mix of words to preach if for no one else, then me, this morning. Praise be to God. She talked about one of the presenters at a Church Revitilization conference she went to in Atlanta a few weeks ago. The presenter said that instead of helping the "new member class" gain their sea legs by offering his help and support through the coming weeks, he tells them to "Take off your bib and put on your apron... You can of course eat the meal, but you must also be the host. You can of course eat the meal, but you must prepare it."
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This was essentially the call of Jeremiah... "Do not say I am only a child...I have put my words in your mouth... I have appointed you a prophet to the nations... " Take off your bib and put on your apron. God provides for you to be the host and do your work as a part of the Kingdom of God... as a part of the church.
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In my hectic and chaotic days at My Friend's Place, I often get bothered by the busyness and forget the impact and importance of my work. But now i know. I need to strip myself of that bib and put on an apron because that was Jeremiah's call and that is my call too.