In the Lawyer's Office
What am I doing here? I've been sitting here in this lawyer's office for over two and a half hours. I never thought that I'd be talking to a lawyer, getting ready to go to the courthouse....
What is this all about, you ask? Well, I don't know that it's appropriate for me to tell you. Or maybe it is, and I'm just not ready. You see, talking to a lawyer, talking about court, is a little intimidating, a little scary. I can tell you that I'm here on behalf of another, and that if you've been reading my blog for the past two months, you might be able to figure it out. But if you do figure it out, don't tell me; I'm not sure I'm ready to know that you know. It will make it all that much more real. I'm not sure I'm ready for that.
When I moved to this community five and a half years ago, I really wanted to become a part of the community. I really wanted to make a difference. It's what I felt called to do. It's an important part of my ministry. I wanted --- though this is not how I would have put it at the time --- to love this community.
I just didn't expect that doing so would lead me to a lawyer's office.
The lawyer donated her time to me. What a gift! And yet, the prospect of high court costs, reaching perhaps $1000, looms. How can I do this? My checkbook says I have exactly $22.18 to last my family until payday. Am I doing the right thing?
Yesterday I got my Christian Century magazine in the mail; it has an excellent article by "first year bishop" William Willimon. In it, he writes that he recently moved a pastor to a new church (that's how the Methodists do things). The pastor said to Willimon, "Bishop, you don't have to apologize for handing me and my family a $7,000 cut in salary with this move. Don't feel bad about it. I came into the ministry from a $100,000 job with Mobile Oil. There's nothing you can do to hurt me as bad economically as when Jesus called me to go to seminary and become a preacher."
Yeah, that Jesus has a way of messing things up like that.
So here I sit in the lawyer's office, getting ready to go to court, wondering how it can all possibly work out.
God, I must be crazy.
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2 comments:
Ok... I THINK I know what you're talking about, so I'm going to try to speak to what I'm thinking of. Of course, there's the chance that it might not be what I'm thinking of, in which case you might be a bit confused. So, if I comment on the wrong thing, then forgive my ignorance!
Here goes: It might seem like a lot of trouble and a lot of work, BUT IT'S WORTH IT!!!!!!! You are doing a wonderful, amazing, compassionate, Christian thing. He is lucky to have someone in his life that believes he is worth this kind of trouble and work. Keep on truckin'! You will be in my prayers!!!
Mark. What he said.
Word.
(Wow, all this and I have groovy street lingo talk, too. I am soooo hip.)
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