(It’s a Yogi Berra quote.)

I’ve been thinking back to June 2003 which was my baptism-by-fire into ministering to grieving people. Yesterday morning, I went and sat with a family who had lost their youngest son in a (very preventable) car accident and then stood with them at the funeral home as they went to view their son’s body. (Thankfully, the two funeral directors here had cleaned him up pretty well before letting the family see him.) Two years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to do either one. (I still did NOT want to be at the funeral home yesterday, but I was there because these are people I love and part of love is stepping outside one’s comfort zone.)

One thing that the bishop was emphasizing with me on Thursday was his belief in the priesthood of all believers. Jon had capitalized it on his mobility papers and it was an interesting point for me to ponder. My ministry may not be an ordained one, but I still do have one and I’m seeing more and more that I need to develop some of my gifts more because everything I have done as a pastor’s wife has prepared me for my next task.

I’ll be giving a prayer shawl to C (the mother of the deceased) today after I prep for Communion this afternoon. I’m hoping it’s a good thing for her…