At this point in my life, I was not looking to go on staff at any church. My biggest concern was where I was going to live after October 1, 2016. I was not looking to join any staff. I was happy working at Chick Fil-A as a manager. But God had other plans. In the middle of July, I received a text from two friends Tim and Jack. Both text's said the same thing and the crazy thing was Tim and Jack had never met, but they had a mutual friend, Stan (Not the Stan who owned and operated Chick Fil-A Port Jefferson by the way) who attended Cjistian Church at Holbrook. Both text's were similar. "Hey, there is a church in Holbrook looking for a Youth Pastor." My first thought was "I am in no way a youth pastor. I am a children's pastor." I said no to both of them twice but both of these dear friends were persistent and I'm so glad they were. "Just call the pastor and check it out." I checked out the church's website then called the pastor, Pastor Peter O'Leary. We set up an appointment to discuss the position and get acquainted. I truthfully felt it would go absolutely nowhere because of my family situation. I will never forget pulling up to the church on an extremely hot day and ringing the doorbell of the church. I was greeted by the pastor who had a big smile on his face and we went downstairs to the youth room to talk. For about an hour I told Pastor Peter my story about SGT and my marriage as well as what my role would be if I was hired by the church. I was open to exploring the possibility of being a children's and youth pastor but told him I was more experienced with children. We prayed together and he told me he would get back to me. I left not really expecting a call from him but again I was wrong. I did attend a Sunday morning service to see what the services were like. Pastor Pete called me 2 weeks later and said his Christian Education Committee wanted to interview me. We made an appointment for a Friday night August 26th.
I will admit I was nervous and had a glimmer of hope that maybe just maybe I could possibly get hired. It seemed that every time I had a plan for my future, God had a better one! I was brought to an area downstairs and met the committee which consisted of seven people including Pastor Pete. It felt like more. For about two hours they asked me every question imaginable from what took place at SGT, my marital status, my theology and my vision for the children of the church. The main topic was about my divorce. That was one area I knew would be a challenge. I left the church feeling good about everything and put it in God's hands. Two days later I attended the Sunday morning service again not really expecting a decision to be made. After the service, Pastor Pete asked to speak to me. He said it is obvious I have an amazing talent with children and great giftings. However, the committee decided that not only was I not ready to begin my ministry there, they were not ready either. He told me he felt I needed to be ministered to and the church would welcome me with open arms. I was happy to attend services there during the fall. I got involved with a Men's small group and not only attended Sunday mornings, I also attended special events to get to know the members of the church. I was happy to be attending a small church and knew in due time I would be at least volunteering with the children of the church. I always felt it was God's way of telling me he wanted to use me but not right away. In the meantime, God also provided a place for me to live. My landlady from Sound Beach where I lived in 2015 visited me at Chick Fil-A and told me she had an apartment available. God was answering prayer!
UNTIL NEXT TIME
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