Happy Wednesday!

What a great day! I love my class. I am already learning so much. The people in the class are so nice and everyone is really supportive of each other. We are all learning to listen effectively through listening to our professor, reading and practicing through role playing. Each of us had to take on the role of pastor for a class member and then flip the role and become the parishioner. There are two observers while we role play that give us their observations of our brief (5 minute) conversation. Yesterday we worked on attending skills; making eye contact, no crossed arms, no crossed legs, lean toward the parishioner when you talk etc…Today we worked on responding skills; listening, paraphrasing, clarifying, asking open ended questions, etc. It was very interesting. For this long time teacher who has spent more time talking, asking questions and giving instructions than listening, this listening practice is a big event for me.

1 Peter 4: 12 “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you…But rejoice, in as much as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings.”

As a future pastoral care giver I hope to bring the gospel of peace, hope and joy to each conversation I have with whoever I am given to counsel. Our scenario today in the role play was personally foreign to me. The topic was divorce. Bruce and I have been married for nearly 30 years and my parents will have been married 58 years next month. I deal with children of divorce in school, but I have no intimate experience of the feelings that go along with divorce. So today as I was the pastor I had to critically listen to my pretend parishioner. As I listened to her all I could think to do was find ways to care for her.

Each of us has gone through fiery trials. We have all had situations that challenge our resources, our thoughts, our time and even our faith. We have a loving God who calls us to Himself with love, compassion and tender mercies because He, too, knows all about suffering. God knows about fiery trials. Because He loves us so much He asks to share in the trial and to be central in the healing from the situation.

When we walk the road of faith and obedience through suffering then we share in the sufferings of Christ and we become more like Him because of His love for us. We need to try not to think of the fiery trail as a cruel testing, but as a preparation for what God has in store for us. I wish we could learn our lessons of obedience without suffering, but for me it seems I learn better when I am on my knees than when I am on my feet. Let us all spend a bit more time on our knees, listen to what God has to say and have the courage to take joy in the journey.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. Please pray for me and I am praying for all of you. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.