For over a year, I did a job I loved. I got to work with some amazing volunteers who gave of themselves to serve others. Sometimes with coffee, sometimes with smiles, always with a sense of hospitality.
I’d wake up Sunday mornings with nervous anxiety and excitement at what the day would bring, hoping for as much routine as possible, yet understanding the dynamic nature of working for a church. Every Sunday is someone’s first Sunday, and that motto served as the foundation of what we did to ensure our guests felt expected and accepted.
Tomorrow is my first Sunday away from that role. Tomorrow is my first day as no longer a staff member of a church. Tomorrow is the beginning of a new chapter in my life. And although I will miss the warm smiles and the interactions with my team of volunteers and the peers I consider friends, I will not miss the early morning alarm and the machinations of making Sundays happen. I will wake up when I wake up, no timeline and no agenda (except to say NFL Redzone starts at Noon CT).
I can say with honesty the view from this side of that equation looks pretty good to me.
Gil Gonzalez 
I’m so glad you are writing again! Good luck to you and God bless
Thank you so very much, Tracy. I have Lee to thank for pushing me to write, and I appreciate the continued support. I hope all is well with you.
Hey there friend, Happy Monday morning :o) Your post made me happy and a little sad! Happy that you are starting something new and the next chapter of your life. So proud of you for your faith and braveness! Sad because I can hear a little sadness in your words. You truly loved your volunteers and believed in them! I truly understand the nervous anxiety and excitement of Sunday mornings. Whether or not everything will run smoothly. Whether or not all volunteers will show up. Praying no new people get overlooked and get a bad impression of our church, or decide not to return the next week. Our job performance is based largely on the performance of our volunteers, which is a little harder than managing paid employees :o). I have to remind myself that I just need to do my very best and God will take care of the rest. And God’s approval is all that matters! What are your plans this week? I hope you get time to write some more this week. Have you had any bad weather from the hurricane?
Ele
Thanks for the note, Ele. Yes, I will miss the nervous anxiety of Sundays, mostly because of how seriously I took what you said: “Praying no new people get overlooked and get a bad impression of our church.” This was a constant concern on Sundays, and so much of being successful with that specific statement relies on volunteers. And there’s always the reality that we may never know if someone left because we did something poorly *or* if someone came back a second week specifically because of something positive we did. That scorecard is in God’s hands and, like you said, we do our best and let God do the rest!
I appreciate the continued support and my plan is to write daily (at least through November). I would like to keep this going into the New Year, but it may take on a different look with my writing not being contained to only this blog. I have some ideas, but it’s all brain-soup right now.
Thank you for reading!