I was a short order cook at 15. It was certainly not a glamorous job, but for the first time in my life I had what my dad called, “walking around money”. I hated my first job. I reeked of french fry grease on the days in between my shifts. I endured for 10 months. I worked the box office at a movie theatre next. My motivation was free movies and cheap popcorn. I hated it. Then after a brief stint as a bagger at Publix I graduated to retail work. I raided my dads closet and put on my first tie to conquer the Ft. Lauderdale Galleria. Retail work , it turns out, is by-the-hour rejection. I hated it. I worked in the mall till I graduated high school. At 19 I began working as a waiter. I hated it. For $2.13 an hour my patience was put to the test as customers would eat, leave and not tip. The service industry was overrated. Then I began to pastor. It is more of a calling, but it’s still a job. I don’t hate it. Most days I love it. Some days I endure it.
Someone recently asked me why I became a pastor. I didn’t have an answer. He then asked me, “Well, how then did you end up here?” I began to look back at my occupational history and it seemed obvious. At 15, I was being prepared to serve, love, hold a door, cook a meal, hold a hand, sell an idea, and all the while never get tipped for it.
Our present is shaped by our history. And our history is not an accident. Each day, each moment, is preparing us for the next.
Even today I realize that this season is preparing me for the next. It may be in the same place with the same people, but a new challenge. Today I embrace the providence or God in shaping my exciting future with a mundane present.
I've been feeling this way lately, but as you said, there is a purpose for it all. And I should just embrace it and trust God.
– BBax