Retirement Thoughts

I wrote this incase I was asked to say something at the retirement reception, but it was not that type of reception. More of a “greet and mingle” type. So I am sharing with you so all my work goes for something

What is it like to be married to someone whose life has been immersed in the church for 48 years?

Upon learning that Leroy intended to pursue a career in the ministry I wondered if it could work, because every pastor I knew was a talkative soul. Considering the options for failure I still decided to take a chance on this quiet guy. As it turns out, there is a place for the quiet, thoughtful preacher, especially one who is willing to learn new things and try new places and possibilities.

I can say that Leroy has improved with age and my assistance. His grammatical structure was a problem when I first met him. The English teacher in me leaped into action. Now he hardly ever confuses his subject and verb agreement.

In churches where he was all the staff except the weekly custodian, he learned to do almost everything from regular pastoral duties, getting the bulletin together weekly, answering the phone, and plunging the toilet if necessary. However, he quickly learned to stay out of the kitchen as it was the “New Holy of Holies” that he had not been taught about in seminary.

My children learned, at a young age, to answer the parsonage phone with a set script. I had a little more flexibility. Often people would assume that I knew much more information than Leroy shared. I became a master at “hum or oh”.

Most at home duties were in my corner. Retirement might be a challenge as Leroy is perhaps expecting to have more say in where the toilet paper is stored.

We are grateful for the time that Leroy has had official responsibilities here at First Lutheran. It has allowed him to still have some good people time in his life.

Paula