When God does the relocating

“It's easy to not feel misplaced if this tidal wave of appreciation is coming your way.” Christoph Waltz

  Okay, I didn’t see this one coming. Usually, I think that I tend to do fairly well at seeing around corners and what’s potentially coming down the pike. And I have to confess, I don’t always like it when God’s plans don’t matchup with my plans and agenda.

  Those of you who have sat under his teaching are well aware that God has greatly gifted, Robert Leafblad, as a teacher of biblical truth and just teaching in general. It’s one of Robert’s many strengths. Having had the privilege of being the pastor to Rob’s parents, Howard and Gail Leafbald, who were both teachers, this was not a big surprise to me.

  Many years ago, I encouraged Rob to pursue teaching. At the time, though, he just wasn’t interested. Over the course of the last few years though Rob has been pursuing a Master’s degree and doing substitute teaching at Gateway Community College. We all assumed he’d be offered a position to teach locally BUT he wasn’t. God had other plans and the Lord opened a teaching position for Rob in Wausau. (For non-Wisconsin natives, Wausau is not in Poland. That’s Warsaw, though for practical purposes, it’s nearly as far away.) And Rob working in Wausau is bad enough but he doesn’t want to commute the three and a half hours each day – one way. That means that Sarah, our church’s Administrative Assistant, is leaving, too. (I considered suggesting that Rob invest in a small plane and get his pilot’s license yet quickly realized that probably wasn’t going to fly).

  Yet, I’ve been a believer long enough to know that our loss is always another church family’s blessing. We’re going to miss the whole Leafblad family, particularly we’re going to miss having Sarah on staff at Grace. She’s a been a real asset to our team and a blessing to our church for the year and a half that she’s been on staff.

  Someone described a church Administrative Assistant as one who’s “able to photocopy, collate and staple 500 documents in a single bound, takes phone calls while proofreading the bulletin and fixing the copier machine! She swoops in to save any distressed parishioner, all while navigating past the pile of parcels that church members have left in the office doorway! Who is this woman? It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s…SUPER-SECRETARY!” And that describes Sarah Leafblad!

  While I will miss Sarah’s work abilities, what I’ll miss most of all is her godly, gracious spirit. Being a church Administrative Assistant means that you often have to do the job of 2 or 3 people. Every week there are corrections, tweaking and an incessant demand for creativity. Most of us pick up a church bulletin, never considering the many hours it took to put it together, to make sure it’s accurate, that both spelling and grammar are correct, that it’s compelling and people actually will take the time to read it. That same high standard must be applied to every communication that comes out of her office from the worship slides to church correspondence to the web page. At the same time, the phone often will not stop ringing. On top of that there are emails and text messages to respond to, not to mention the church’s Facebook page…and Sarah handled it. She’s consistently gracious and Christlike in the midst of a lot of pressure.

  That’s because Sarah loves the Lord and loves others. If Sarah has any fault, it’s that when she learns of a need, she wants to jump in with both feet with her entire being and help. Yet, sometimes the best choice is to wait. That’s hard for Sarah though. She’s a helper, a fixer and a doer.

  I have to laugh as I look back at how many times I’d give her a project, knowing her plate for the week was already full, and clearly instructing her to put it off until the following week and on next week’s agenda. Invariably, she’d have it done before she finished for the week. In fact, I remember her telling me one time that it was best that her printer at home was on the fritz because it prevented her from completing work there. Sarah is a hard worker and seemingly tireless.

  Anyone who knows Sarah know that God has blessed her with phenomenal creativity. We’re not a huge church and don’t have some gargantuan marketing budget. Yet, I’ve had pastors contact me, wondering where we purchased our logos and designs for our various ministries and sermon series. I’d share with them that we had a lady in our church who God had greatly gifted with creativity.

  John 13:4-5, 14 tells us that, “[Jesus]  rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. ‘If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet’.” In Jesus’ ministry, we frequently hear Him talking about serving others. This is clearly illustrated by His act of washing His disciple's feet.

  When our Lord took on the task of the lowest slave of the household by washing the feet of those who were supposed to be His servants, He was making a powerful statement to them - especially because the issue they were fighting over that evening was who was the greatest among them. Christians are to have servant’s hearts and that’s one of Sarah’s greatest strengths. She loves to serve; she loves to minister to others.

  So Sarah, Rob, Bjorn and Aiden, we’re going to miss you! Thank you so much for your faithfulness and Christlikeness! Yet, we truly know and trust that God’s plan is always best, that our loss is just a blessing in another part of His Kingdom. It’s been a privilege working with you, Sarah, and having you on our staff! Thank you so much for being a blessing to us and faithfully serving King Jesus!