It was amazing and
shocking to hear this from someone I respect and look up to so much,
whose books I have on my shelf and whose sermons had a vital hand in
getting me into ministry in the first place, and even more so when I
heard his reason. With some time away from work, memories of all the
times a sermon had misfired or he'd said the wrong thing came back to
haunt him to the point where he decided he would never speak again. Never mind all the many, many times he had encouraged,
inspired and moved people on to better, more fulfilled lives. No, the
soundtrack that ran through his mind was one of doubt and blame and
it nearly drove him out of the place where he is utterly meant to be.
I don't know about you
but I've got one of those soundtracks of my own. It is so easy to
remember the times you got it wrong and to let those moments dominate
to the detriment of the many more times that taking that risk was
well worth it. The more I write and speak the more I appreciate what
a risky business it is. The commenter who calls you ignorant when you
speak from your heart or the talk where you stumbled over your words
and feel the flush of embarrassment of just not being able to say
what you really want to. Suddenly this is the reality, every other
moment of success and support fades away into the distance under the
neon, day glow flashing critique that you just can't seem to shake. That you
fear, after all, might be the one thing that has been said that is
really true.
When someone so
inspirational to me said he wanted to quit because of these things I
wanted to stand up and yell 'Never, ever, do that!' and yet at the same time
to hear that even someone who I deem so very competent has the same
fears as I do gave me a sudden sense of release. Perhaps this is just
how we are and, as he advised, we all need to adjust how we remember. We all need to
paint the positives in neon too and let the negatives sits in perspective
for a while in the company of the things we get right.
I spent so very long
looking for 'my thing' in life that I never really considered how
tricky it can be to persist in it. To keep speaking when you would
rather be silent, to put yourself out there when you'd rather hide.
But bravery has its rewards and sometimes we don't even know it.
Sometimes the reward is in someone else's life that is enhanced and
encouraged in a way we may never even know or understand.
As for me,
I'm going send an email tonight to add my day glow positive sign to
the mix for my favourite priest and sermon giver because quite
frankly I think he ought to know. And the next time I feel my knees
begin to quake at the thought of stepping out there into the unknown
I'll remember that I'm not the only one and that little act of
bravery might have all kinds of consequences that I will never know.
