Chain of events and encounters

One thing that's always really amazing to me is how people come into your life and change it dramatically.  I met an amazing woman through a class I was helping to teach and she and I have developed a relationship which is very deep.  We have discussions about death and life and letting go and looking back over our lives.  Sometimes it's really hard to make sense of life at all.  Yet, by talking, and reflecting, it gets easier.  You never really reach your destination, but somehow your lens gets a little less foggy.  This is one of the great gifts of ministry.  You get a chance to see your own life in perspective because every time you talk with another person your own life is the measure by which you see the world.

It's not about being self-centered.  It's just that life experiences shape who we are.  We are all the events of the past and so you can't really separate yourself from them.

Later in the afternoon, I met with a young couple about their wedding service.  As Valentine's approaches, it makes one ponder about the meaning of love.  This couple seemed to be love personified and their wedding service is SO important to them.  It reminded me of my responsibility to ensure a meaningful ceremony.  Sometimes I get kind of grumpy when it comes to weddings -- at one time they were my least favourite thing to do.  I guess I always felt that I was extraneous to the whole enterprise and so felt like I was being "used."

In the past couple of years, however, I've experienced a change (either in myself or the couples I deal with.)  There's been a deepening desire for a wedding service that really reflects the couple and their hopes for the future.  This is the kind of thing that I love being a part of.  When I feel that a couple are not just going through the motions, but are sincerely seeking a wonderful day, I really enjoy it and want to be part of the celebration.  Our intentions make just a difference, don't they? When we seek a deep experience, we can often get want we seek.  If we don't seek a deep experience, it ends up being shallow and very unsatisfying.  The former is so powerful and I'd walk a mile for anyone who really wants to explore the depths of any kind of religious worship.