I’m feeling 22!
1
Timothy 4:12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but
set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and
in purity
I have never felt more my age then
when I started training. This sounds like something an elderly person might say
after they have fallen and hurt themselves or when they are surrounded by young
people. But, for me it was a problem because the first thing people noticed when I said I was training to be a vicar was ‘you are so young!’ Often
people would turn round to me and say I could be your Mum or I’m old enough to
be your Grandparent. I know this was never aimed to upset me, but it did give me
an age complex. It made me feel unable, inexperienced and just generally like I
needed to grow up to be a good ‘potential’ future priest.
This weekend I had a wonderful opportunity
to tell a group at a non-church place about my calling to train as a vicar. To be exact it was at the Women's of the World festival in Chester. It
was a fantastic chance just to show people how great church can be. For the
first time, I honestly felt my calling at such a young age to be a gift. People
were amazed, wanted to know more about God, why I love him so much and choose
to devote my life to him at such a young age. It shocked people.
So on Saturday I felt my age was a
gift and hopefully this gift encouraged and changed people’s view of what
church can be for all sorts of people. Perhaps it even encouraged them to investigate Christianity who knows!
Be blessed,
Steph
xoxo
No comments