How HE calls us Pt. 2
Happy New Year! My theological education makes that greeting all the more special. It does not just mean that I wish you well for the coming calendar year that begins on January 1st. It also is an acknowledgment, as a Catholic Christian, that our liturgical year begins with Advent. The time of year when we wait for the coming of our Lord and Savior. Advent is the beginning of the story for us as Christians. And what a wonderful story it is.
Well, I’m at the beginning of a new story in my life and I know the story is so much better because of my studies here at Aquinas. So, let me tell you the story and you can decide for yourself.
Three months ago I made a blog entry and my thoughts were all over the place (it was not one of my better entries). I had just received some signs, though, that it was time for me to make some changes in my life. So let’s review the signs that I received.
First, I had more people than I could count telling me that I was working myself too hard. I was serving my parish as its Pastoral Associate, which included being the business manager and the Youth Director. I was also working hard on my studies and trying to maintain my law practice, Michelle Smith Legal Ministry. I was also doing all of this while not taking very good care of my health. So, no wonder that my body shut down and I landed in the hospital with double pneumonia, a kidney infection, hypertension and my diabetes was not helping the healing process. Part of my recovery was a mandatory stay at home for two weeks. This quiet time was time to reflect on how God had sent me messages through other people. I just wasn’t paying attention.
Second sign was the day I returned to work. It was a fateful Wednesday, August 16, 2007. That was the day lightning struck our beautiful church and she went up in a five-alarm blaze. That night I made up my mind to stop acting like I couldn’t hear Him telling me it was time to move.
Move to what? The third sign. This sign actually has several confirmations wrapped up in it. Prior to taking ill, I had accepted a contract to serve as an Attorney consultant to an up and coming IT company. I had only been on the job for two weeks, took the youth to Atlanta, got sick and was off work for two weeks. So imagine my surprise when I return to the contract job and they offer me a full-time position doing just what I always dreamed in law school–corporate general counsel. Good pay. Good benefits. The chance I needed to serve God in a new way. Using my law license to serve Him. Deciding that I did not need to again try to balance two jobs where I practiced law and worked for the Rock, I decided that it was time to let the Rock go. Now for some confirmations.
First confirmation was that there was a wonderful lady waiting to step in and take the reigns from me. She was out of work and in need of insurance. I had two jobs with two sets of health insurance. She knew the vision that I was building and I believed she is competent to carry it through. It was during this time that the paper I wrote for summer school about why Moses did not get into the Promised Land made perfect sense. I, like Moses, was not the one to implement a new vision of youth ministry at The Rock. Someone else was supposed to do it.
Second confirmation. I found the perfect location to open Michelle Smith Legal Ministry. Everybody seems to know where it is on Lindell (Lindell Professional Building).
Third confirmation is that I bumped into a young man whom I had taught at Sanford Brown College. He’s a paralegal who has had a hard time finding work because he doesn’t have the experience, but he cannot get the experience without the work. The timing was right for him and he called me and when I told him I was just getting started, and could not pay him, he offered to volunteer his time to get some experience. What a blessing for both of us.
Next confirmation. I am blessed to have found a wondeful person to share this dream with and she is the perfect balance for me. She is great with numbers (I’m not). She has a cooler head than I do. And she is willing to use her accounting skills to run this ministry and manage the business affairs. These two people are gifts from God whom I treasure for they are helping me to grow this ministry for Him. I couldn’t ask for much else.
Last confirmation. New clients keep walking through the door and old clients bring me new business.
What have I learned from all of this? Some is what I already knew. Everything happens for a reason and it is all part of His plan for us. Every experience builds on the ones before it.
I had to leave the practice of law as I knew it then, so I could return to it with what I know now. I know now that all that I have is a gift from God. I know now that Jesus left us a model of servant leadership. I know now that I can run a law practice with a mission to serve God, serve those who serve others, and to serve the underserved. I can do all that for Him and I’ll be rich beyond measure.
Oh, by the way, I have not left ministry at the Rock Church. I have found new ways to serve in the church. I am a Sacristan for the Saturday evening liturgy. I also want to serve on the Stewardship Committee.
A new chapter has begun. Thanks be to God.