A long time waiting

Sometimes it takes a really long time to have anything worth while to say. Then there are other times when there are a lot of words but not much that really makes sense. It is the plague of the preacher! Words that fail to communicate the Word (if you know what I mean).

Let me tell you that I continue to be impressed and motivated by the faithfulness of the people who come into my life. Some of those people are 'flesh and blood' folks while others are known only to me through history or the printed word.

For example, I have been reading about the life and ministry of Francis Asbury. What a faithful guy. He traveled on horseback for thousands of miles during post-revolution America when travel was really travel. No road side rest areas by the side of the interstate. No clean restrooms at McDonald's. No cold drink waiting inside the gas station / convenience store. Just miles and miles of saddle time.

As it turns out, Asbury was one of the best know people of his day. He was known by facial recognition to a far greater degree than George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or any of those swirling constitutional signatures. He knew people of every type. He had wealthy friends who cared for his needs and funded the Methodist movement. But he always choose to spend the night in the home of common folks. Town to town, village to village, homestead to homestead, he was a man of the people.

I love that image. Humble, faithful, loyal, consistent, relational ... I think I see a pattern here. Ultimately he was a pastor. Oh, if only...