So often the people in our congregations assume that we, their pastors, are something more than ordinary. Whether it is our role, the visibility of our work, or the sacred trust placed in us, it can be easy for others — and sometimes for us — to imagine that pastoral leaders exist on a level slightly removed from the ordinary realities of life. But the simple truth is that we are ordinary people. We carry heavy burdens. We navigate hard transitions. We experience joy and loss, exhaustion and hope, often alongside the very same struggles present in the lives of the communities we serve.
Much of life, when we are honest, is profoundly ordinary. Living is hard work: raising children, caring for aging parents, navigating financial stress, managing health concerns. Living is also deeply joyful: celebrating graduations, a spouse’s promotion, the birth of a child, or a long-awaited reconciliation. Nearly everything we experience could be called ordinary, not because it lacks meaning, but because it is shared human ground. These moments are not insignificant; they form the necessary framework of our lives, marking time with peaks and valleys that shape who we are becoming. The ordinary is where life actually happens.
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