To Preach or Not to Preach

Sunday, Sept. 14

“Don’t let the things you can’t do hinder you from the things you can do.”—John Wooden. Most of us are so busy with a plethora of duties and concerns that we get to bed at night wishing we had gotten more done or that there were more hours in the day. It’s such a common element of each day that we accept it as a pattern and give little thought to it. We just feel bogged down and not quite satisfied with life. Wooden’s comment might help if we stop long enough to absorb it. Besides the things that we would like to do that never get done, are things that we simply don’t have the capacity to do, no matter how much time we have. This can be disheartening. I finally gave up on basketball at 81. Not too much of a problem. I spared myself the ignominy of making a fool of myself—plus I was never much of an athlete, anyway. I have given up driving at night. I can handle this, too. But there is one thing that I wrestle with. Although I thoroughly enjoy preparing a sermon, I find it difficult to deliver it. I can’t keep track of my notes very well, I lose my train of thought. I get depressed over my ineptitude. This is where Wooden’s statement becomes pertinent. Moaning over this lost capacity is wasted time and demoralizing. Wooden is right. I need to concentrate on the things I can do. One of them is this blog that I prepare for day. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy doing this. It doesn’t really matter a whole lot if anyone is reading it; my study is rewarding enough. I pray that it will also benefit someone else, too, but that is not top priority for me. The bottom line is that God has given us certain abilities, sometime diminished abilities, and we are responsible to use them to His glory. I hereby relinquish my (former) ability to preach.