Sick Call

Do you have a to-do list? I do. Every Sunday afternoon, I sit down and put together all the things I want to do for the week, and the day I want to do them. I also put on the list all the events I plan to go to. I put down almost everything, big things and small things. In fact, I put down lots of small things, just to give myself the satisfaction of being able to cross a bunch of things off my list.

Last Sunday afternoon, around 4:30 or so, I put together this week’s to-do list. Then I went home, had supper with Wanda, and did the first thing on the list, which was to go to Onida for the CCYG singspiration service. I did that, had a wonderful time, came home, and went to bed feeling good. My to-do list was right on schedule.

Then, about 1:30 in the morning, I got the flu. That wasn’t on my to-do list at all. I was pretty much worthless on Monday and even worse Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon, Wanda insisted I go to the clinic, and they put me into the hospital overnight. I got out early Wednesday afternoon, and am feeling much better now.

So, as I was lying in the hospital, I thought to myself, what can I learn from this? Don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying that I think God deliberately gave me the flu. The flu is a virus, and we all get it sometimes no matter what precautions we take. Still, the book of Proverbs tells us that we should seek understanding in everything. So, here are some things I might be able to learn from this.

For one thing, I need to listen to Wanda more. She thought I should go to the clinic earlier than I did. If I had, maybe I wouldn’t have needed to go to the hospital. I kept thinking it would get better on its own. Besides, I hadn’t spent a night in the hospital since I was born. I kind of hated to break my record. Still, I probably would’ve been better off if I’d listened to Wanda sooner.

For another thing, I’m not as strong as I like to think I am. When my dad had the flu, he put on his coveralls and went out to feed the cattle. I didn’t have the strength to check my email.

For one more thing, it shows that there is no such thing as an indispensable person. I’ve believed that for a long time, but sometimes I act like maybe I think I’m the exception to the rule. I suspect a lot of pastors tend to feel like that. It is a calling, after all, and when you feel like God is calling you to do something, it’s easy to start feeling like you’re the only person in the world who can do it.

It’s not true. It’s not true of me, and it’s not true of anyone. The world was around for a long time before any of us came along. The chances are it’ll be around long after any of us are gone. That’s true on the local level, too. I like to feel like I’m making a contribution, but the towns of Gettysburg, Onida, and Agar were around quite a while before I came here, and so were the United Methodist Churches in those towns. The chances are both the towns and the churches will be around quite a while after I’m gone, too.

We should not use that as an excuse. We still all need to do our best. But we should not try to do more than our best. Just by definition, it’s not possible. If we try to do more than we can, it will simply lead to frustration and feelings of inadequacy. That’s not good for ourselves or anyone else.

So, let’s go out, do the best we can, and then just relax. I may not be as strong as I think I am, but God is stronger than I can ever imagine. Everything on my to-do list may not get done this week, but everything on God’s will.