Think about the fun you had!
Back in your early ministry or when you were part of a team that started something new. Maybe you’ve even got pictures or can reminisce with team members. Not so much thinking of a “those were the good old days” kind of nostalgia but a looking back and reliving the joy today. And the spark that can put in your step.
Bill Watkins was the designer of the Space Mountain rollercoaster for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. In 2018 at age 87, he got to ride his creation again. They even opened the ride early just for him and let him ride with the lights on (Space Mountain is a rollercoaster in the dark in case you didn’t know) so he could see his handiwork.
Afterward his first words, “Can we go again?”
Yes, they let him ride again, this time with the lights out so he’d enjoy it just as over 250 million others had in over 40 years.
I love it. The thrill lives on.
Get the joy back as you remember or visit sites of past accomplishments. Even laugh at some of your failures or mistakes. I remember the time I, the Youth Pastor, walked into the youth room to see one of our kids who I knew well looking out the window. I was in a silly mood and so I walked up put my fingers in her ears. She turned around with my fingers still in her ears. She was a complete stranger!
I stammered an apology and an introduction. Turned out she was a visitor. Turned out she never came back. Oh.
Why revisit the past?
Because the remembered joy or even mistakes of the past helps fuel our current and future ministry. If you’re in the midst of struggles in ministry or trying to figure if you even want to go on. Take some time, look through old pictures, ask God for a reminder of what He’s done through you, talk to people who worked with you in the early days. Don’t give up.
Reflect and revisit. Your ministry is a story with more joyful chapters left to write!
