Green Acres

The life of a pastor is full of its special perks and privileges, like christening your great nieces and maybe one day, officiating your children's weddings. It means giving your loved ones the greatest gift that you can, that of God's blessing, in the most momentous occasions of their lives. Oftentimes, however, heartache precedes that first dance. For my dad, being a pastor this week means preaching at his brother-in-law's memorial service (his sister's husband). He was a pastor, too, an incredibly kind and sincere man who was good not only to his wife and children, but his wife's whole family, my father included, and our whole family, too. He befriended my mother's father when they lived in the same city. Because that's what it means to be a pastor. In between the baptisms, weddings, and funerals is life, carrying burdens and tending relationships. The kind of pastoral acts that earn you the privilege and responsibility of making sense of a life you cultivated, when it comes to an end.