Thanksgiving is its Own Special Burden

It is the day after Thanksgiving and I’m definitely feeling thankful. Surrounded by the natural beauty of N.E. Alabama, a warm home, kids all home from school, dad home from work, I’m feeling so thankful that it makes it hard to believe we’re actually going to leave Gadsden Alabama. My mind still fills with things to do, new peaks to strive for at our Gadsden CP Church and new landscaping projects for the front yard. Yesterday we met a neat couple at our Community Thanksgiving Dinner. They're looking for a church, he has some worship leading experience. It took a few minutes for security to pry me off their arm.

It may not be right or fair to the rest of the community we minister to, but young pastors of small churches tend to go weak in the knees when they meet young families, with worship leading experience who are looking for a church. It’s sort of like finding steak in the freezer. Your mouth starts watering immediately. It may not give the appearance of godliness you expect of a pastor, but it’s the truth. God’s Kingdom includes young and old, rich and poor, red and yellow, black and white and you love every single one. Still, the chance to minister to people just like you is a special treat.

My thought though is this. It hard to walk away from steak and Gadsden, has been steak to our family. Up till now it has been hard to think about leaving, but there has been plenty else to worry about. But Thanksgiving the holiday has passed. Christmas the holiday will be just an interlude before taking that left turn out of the driveway and pointing the McMillan caravan west and right now what I feel is sadness that I will not get to be the one that ministers to this new family. Their kids won’t grow up around our home. I won’t spend countless Sunday mornings tuning up with this musician worshiper. And that’s hard.

I think though, that’s how it’s supposed to be. The ministry juices aren’t supposed to stop flowing, for any of us. And that makes everyday a little harder and everyday a little better.

Thanks be to God.

Aaron

Crossing Borders

Our family is now in the process of moving our life and ministry to New Mexico. Our greatest difficulty so far has been convincing our kids that we aren’t actually moving south of the border, a.k.a. Mexico . Finally I just told them that they were right. Dad has gotten into some trouble and we will be leaving the country for awhile. They will need to get jobs to support the family, while I am recovering from the stress of ministry.

It’s funny that to me Mexico does sound like a fearsome place where you would only go to hide from your past. A place where drug lords rule, where kidnappings are rampant and all good people have fled. Thing is, I just came in from speaking with Antonio an electrician working on our new building. He talked about a different Mexico, a place where family comes first and the people are friendly. His kids have grown up in the States and have visited annually for the last few years and would like nothing more than to live in Guadalajara. He never said it, for he is a humble and I believe godly man, but I got the impression that in his eyes, life is better in Mexico. I wonder if he’s right?

I know there’s a bigger picture here. Thousands maybe millions of illegal aliens crossing our borders... Money of course is the root. I suspect Antonio, two years a U.S. citizen, has worked hard and established himself financially and if he returned home would do so under promising conditions. Do you think that is the difference between my friend the hardworking Mexican now U.S. citizen and the countless others, undocumented and looking for work at any price? The need for food, shelter and clothing, the need for money… is that the difference between the illegal and the welcomed new neighbor? One can afford to come through the front door, the other can't afford not to come though the back door.

I don’t buy that the illegal aliens among us are all crooks. I don’t think endlessly open borders will work either. I guess we all know that.

This is what I do know and will stand on. This is absolutely a What Would Jesus Do kind of moment.

Mostly I’ll be interested to see how my perspective changes once I’m living a little closer to the border. Things may look a little different than they do here in Alabama.

What do you think?

-Aaron