The Quiet Chaplain

Photo by  Aron Visuals  on  Unsplash Most days end before the work does. There is always one more email, one more task, one more room to clean, one more conversation to have, one more thing we meant to finish. We carry lists from one day into the next. We replay what we missed. We think about what we should have done differently. Even after the day is over, our minds keep working. Unfinished tasks can make us feel like we have failed. But faithfulness is not the same as finishing everything. Scripture Reference: Matthew 11:28–30,  Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Jesus invites the weary to come to Him. Not only the people who have completed the list. Not only the people who managed the day well. Not...

Photo by  Andrea De Santis  on  Unsplash A phone call comes at the wrong time. Someone stops by when the schedule is full. A child needs attention. A coworker has a question. A conversation runs longer than expected. The carefully arranged day begins to unravel, and frustration rises quickly. The interruption is rarely the problem. The real problem is that it was not part of our plan. Interruptions can feel like obstacles standing between us and what we believe we are supposed to accomplish. But sometimes, the interruption is the assignment. Scripture Reference: Mark 5:21–34,  Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore.  Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet,  pleading fervently with him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.”  Jesu...

Photo by  Levi Meir Clancy  on  Unsplash It has been a few years of waiting. Years of wondering what God wants to do in me and through me. At times, it has felt less like standing still and more like walking down a long hallway, looking at each door and wondering which one I am supposed to walk through. Since moving to the Kitsap Peninsula, I have worked several different jobs. Each position has taught me something, stretched me in some way, and added another piece to the journey. Yet somehow, after all the changes, I find myself returning to the place where my ministry began more than twenty years ago. I would like to say that the path has always made sense. It has not. There have been moments of clarity, but there have also been long stretches of uncertainty. I have wondered whether I missed a door, chose the wrong one, or simply needed to keep walking. Waiting has not felt passive. It has required me to keep showing up, keep listening, and keep trusting God when I coul...