Letting Go..

Saying Good-bye is a necessary life skill. My mind jumps ahead to all of the times that I will inevitably have to teach my children to say "Good-bye" Just because it's necessary doesn't mean that it's easy, though. In one week, I will be saying good-bye to my job of two years as the administrative assistant at Compass Church. I have LOVED this job, even with it's various stresses. I have enjoyed playing the role of supporter, encourager, and go-to gal for the staff at Compass. I was honored to be considered an integral and valued part of church staff. I was deeply blessed to work with each of the Compass Staff members (although only one still remains). I'd like to dive into my nostaliga for just a moment and remember each of them out-loud with you.
1. Here she is, the faithful, the lone orginal staff member - Gay, the children's coordinator. When I first started my position, she patiently took me under her wing to show me the "ins" and "outs" of the copy machine and other various cranky office equpiment. She and I have had what I would consider to be the healthiest working relationship of my life - and she's my friend outside of the office too (thanks for ALL of the lunches!) Gay has put up with my wackiness and randomness for hours on end each week - truly, she defines patience!
2. Russ, the Associate Pastor - I quickly learned that Russ possessed a huge heart, dry wit, and a genuine need for Starbucks coffee in his bloodstream! :) It took me a few weeks to determine that what you see is really waht you get with Russ - from that point on, we worked together very well. Russ really shone when our church had some inmates from the local prison doing work on our church building. He treated those inmates with respect and geniune kindess - showing them Christ's love.
3. Kevin, the Youth Minister - Kevin....where do I start? Kevin and Russ were oft-teased for their joint Starbucks runs - yup, Kevin was a Starbucks junkie too. I truly respected Kevin for his amazing love towards his wife, and his genuine intrest and care in the lives of Compass's youth. I also respected Kevin for his strong veiwpoints, which 90% of the time seemed to be polar opposite of my own. We had many a "heated" discussion (at least heated from my view...Kevin was really always pretty laid back) and interesting exchanges over certain political ideas. Kevin, you kept me sharp, and I appreciated that.
5. Scott, the Senior Pastor- Scott and his family are now moving foward as Scott fufills a calling for ministry at a church on the East Coast. I remember starting work at Compass - Scott's lovely wife graciously showed me the ropes of my new position, and Scott answered all of my little piddly office questions for months on end. I vividly remember the time that I couldn't get my computer to do anything for me - even though the light on the bottom of my monitor glowed green, the screen was still black. After pusing buttons for several mintues, I went to Scott in desperation. Scott got up, came out of office, and with one glance he surmised the problem - reaching down, he pushed the "ON" button on the computer's workstation/tower. Believe me, at that moment, I wanted to crawl under the desk and die! :) Brian and I were privealged to get to know all of Scott's amazing family, and Scott taught me so much about maturity, grace, leadership, and strength in the Lord. Scott is number one in my book as a storyteller - both in his sermons, and in the office. I posses to this day a huge respect for this man of God - my husband and I are blessed to continue to enjoy friendship with him, even as both of our families move on.
I waddled into this job six months pregnant with my second child - the entire staff gave me understanding and grace, as I took maternity leave just three months into the position. Also, I did much of my work from home - the church worked with me on this as well, allowing me to be a Mommy first and a church secretary on the side. I am SO blessed to have walked this path - thank you Lord for this part of my journey!! Please pray for me, as I let go and move foward to the next great adventure God has for me.