May 20, 2020 Charles Dickens summed it up well in his famous introduction to “A Tale of Two Cities”: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” While “worst of times” is a bit of an exaggeration, that type of duality was on my mind this week as I reflected on what I called my “work-iversary,” my two year anniversary of starting this position with the diocese. This job has both challenged me and rewarded me in ways I couldn’t have imagined back on May 14, 2018, when I walked through the door into what is now my office. Of course, this job has the typical work challenges – personalities, deadlines, last-minute changes to projects… On top of that, I’ve discovered challenges that are particular to working in ministry. There are feelings of unworthiness. I constantly question how I’m qualified to share my ponderings on faith with others when I fail to live my faith well so regularly. The standard personality conflicts and work disagreements that take place in any office feel harder to process working in ministry. It’s harder partly because I fall into a trap of expecting too much of people. I expect we’ll all be Christ-like 100 percent of the time because we work for the Church (even though, again, I realize I fall short regularly). When people fail to act Christ-like, it’s easy to think, “if this is how Catholics behave, I’m not sure I want to be Catholic.” And there are other challenges, too, but there are also amazing gifts and rewards. I’ve had countless opportunities to talk to the amazing people of the North Country about how they’re living out their faith. I see the Lord working in and through others. My faith has been strengthened those interactions. I have the love and support of an amazing diocesan team, as well as the NCC’s reporters, photographers, columnists and subscribers. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been helped, been given wisdom or given a kind word exactly when I needed it. I have a folder of emails and a folder of cards from NCC readers who went out of their way to tell me something I wrote meant something to them. I revisit those folders when I have a tough day, and those notes remind me that the struggle has meaning. This job isn’t always easy, but the blessings far outweigh the challenges. It’s the best of times. |
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