It Takes Time...And Then It Takes Time

Every other Wednesday, I take my lunch break to drive about 15 minutes out of town to go to my local comic book shop (because as awesome as Nashville is in so many areas, it took me a month and a half to find a decent comic book shop). There's a spot where 440 goes over I-65 where you can catch an incredible view of the Nashville skyline. I remember driving back to work one Wednesday in December, catching that glimpse, and realizing that this was now my city.

I had lived and worked in Music City for about three months at that point, but in that moment at the end of the year I was taken aback by everything that had happened. None of this was on my radar for the majority of 2016. There are still times when I'm walking the halls at church and this surge of awe goes through me: "I get to work here!" 

Looking back I feel incredibly blessed. Not #blessed, but truly fortunate because for several years I wasn't sure where I was going to end up. If you've followed this blog for awhile, there's a stretch of about two and a half years when I wrote a lot about this wilderness experience. I had a calling but I didn't know where it fit in. I took jobs to pay bills, I helped out where I could, but I just felt like I was wandering around. So to have a place where I get to use these abilities in a place that intersects with my passion is something for which I am incredibly grateful.

The beginning of a year is a time in which we look forward to our hopes and dreams. Maybe we want to lose weight, be a kinder person, find a new job, pursue a passion, or something that resonates even deeper in our lives. This is a trick of the calendar because we can start these journeys at any time. Regardless, that journey is frustrating. Anything worthwhile takes time. I don't think I would appreciate where I am if it didn't take time.

Yet then it still takes more time. I'm here serving a youth minister but I am still learning. I haven't arrived. I am not sure that we are supposed to "arrive," whatever that means. We'll have places where we are more content, but I think every time we arrive at a goal, we find out that there is more mountain to climb. I think we are supposed to always push forward. I know that we are supposed to do that in relation to our love of God and neighbor. My theology includes that God invites us to be co-creators in this world and that creation is never supposed to stop.

I write all of this at the beginning of the new year (though not as early as I wanted) to remind myself and you that what we hope for this year, if it is worthwhile, takes time. And if somehow, someway we eventually find those hopes, that is not the end. We'll still have work to do. Don't grow despondent when that happens. We're fortunate that we get to strive for something more.