The Pastoral Grind

 (Originally written for The Baldwin Bulletin: Pastor's Column October 21, 2020) A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever …What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after . (Ecclesiastes 1:4, 9-11) A thought that frequently came to mind when I was a teenager was, “They just don’t understand.” Usually it was about my parents, who I saw as being unnecessarily strict and out of touch. They just didn’t get how things were for a young man in the 2000s. It had been 25 years since they were my age. They couldn’t possibly know what life was like. Looking back, my teenage self had some growing up to do and, now that I have my own children, I understand a bit more w