Last Sunday, I got a call from the chair of the search committee at Yorkminster Presbyterian Church, a church that I had interviewed with for the position of Director of Children and Youth Ministries. Bill (the chair of the committee) offered me the job...and I accepted. Last week was filled with excitement, and nerves, and lots of "What am I thinking?" and "I can't wait for what's ahead!" I enjoyed my last days of quiet around the house as my parents got back into their regular routines with church and school. And I prepared myself for what I had signed on to do.
This morning finally arrived. My alarm was set for 6:30am (the earliest it had been set in...a really, really long time). My dad had made enough coffee for me to take some on the road. My outfit was hanging in the closet, and I was ready to go. As I drove the 30 minute commute to Yorktown, my stomach was filled with butterflies, but more because of the excitement about all the people I was getting ready to meet than because of nerves. As soon as I walked in the door, I saw some familiar faces from the search committee and lots of new faces. People welcomed me, and once I introduced myself expressed their gratitude and appreciation about me being at the church.
Two worship services and one Sunday School kick-off later, I met more people than I could imagine and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. The church had a Fall Festival after the 11:00 service, that unfortunately had to be moved indoors because of the weather. However, as I sat and ate my lunch with the Associate Pastor and his family, and a few more families from the church, I looked around and couldn't help but smile. I listened to the conversations around the table, learned things about families and started to pick up on some of the things that give each church its personality.
As I drove home, I rode in silence for the first few miles of my trip and thought about the morning I just experienced. Even though the morning was full of new faces and I was on mental overload, I was full of excitement for this new journey I am headed on. So, I head back across the water on Tuesday and will start to learn about and do this job I've signed on for. But I am so excited. :-)
