Multiple hats don’t look good in the mirror. Seriously, how many people do you know who would be bold enough to be a fashionista and adorn more than one hat at a time? So silly - correct? Yet figuratively, we do it all the time.

If I had a nickel for every time someone shared that I was wearing too many hats, I would have been able to retire years ago. Over a particular season of my life, well-meaning people regularly shared with me that the pace of my life was anything but normal. The problem - it seemed normal to me.  Not only did it seem normal, but I enjoyed the fruits of my labor.  Bills were paid, the kids had what they needed, and I was happily married to my wife.  My “normal” was working for me, regardless of what others believed about my fast-paced life they believed would ultimately lead to collapse.

For a bit of context, my normal was working two jobs: one as a public school administrator and another as an assistant pastor. Normal was about sixty to eighty hours a week, constantly fatigued, constantly stressed, yet seeing success. My normal didn’t appear to have loss or a need for rescue. The reality was that I was forfeiting my God-given job as a husband and father to serve others. I defended my pace by believing that I was in the Lord’s work and that fatigue and time away from my family were a necessary cost of leadership. My life was blessed but without joy. I found myself doing ministerial work without a ministerial heart. I needed help but didn’t see it. Yet the Lord saw fit to rescue me from what I didn’t know so that I could focus on the things that mattered most to Him. How did He do it? How He often does things - in the strangest of ways.  

I discovered hope and help in Jesus when He threw me a curveball. My children attended a Christian school where my wife worked as well. After serving four years as a board member at the school, an opportunity arose for me to become their next President. After a season of prayer, my wife and I said yes to the new adventure and uncertainty of what a new job offers. I still planned on continuing my work as an assistant pastor, but I was so excited to have two jobs that directly aligned with ministry. It was at this time though, that the Lord began to pull me away from my work at the church. The details are complex and the spider web intricate, but after over twenty years of service to Him in a local congregation, God worked in my heart to resign my leadership position there.  I would have never dreamed that this would be a reality and, candidly, I would have said no to the new job if I had known. Our new adventure did not seem so grand. After years in a large public school system where I was making an excellent wage, I found myself working in a small Christian school making significantly less and that minus the part-time salary afforded to me in my pastoral position. After years of service in a local church, my family and I were looking for a new church. How could these crazy turn of events, all in less than a year, possibly lead to less stress and more hope/help? 

As strange as it sounds, Jesus drew me into what mattered most to Him: me. I don’t share that arrogantly, but my help came from when Jesus reminded me that He wanted a relationship with me more than He wanted all of the stuff that I was doing in His name. The Lord showed me that He wanted me to minister to my wife and children in the same way that I had been ministering to others. In a very real way, Jesus peeled all the stuff I was doing away so that He could give me clarity and peace found only in a relationship with Him. 

Psalm 1 shares that the blessed man is the one who finds Himself in God’s word, delighting in its truth and meditating on its principles. The psalmist goes on to share that this type of man is like a tree planted firmly by streams of water that will bear fruit in its season. The strength and fruit have nothing to do with the man’s resume. The key is not the stuff we do, the key is our relationship with Him. Is that your story? As strange as it may seem it wasn’t mine and having gone through that season, I am well aware it could become mine again. Our stories will never be one of contentment and peace when they are built upon the list of things we do - even if they are done for Him. Rather, the blessed life comes from knowing we are in union with Christ by God’s grace, and He invites us into that story today. Why not accept the invitation?