I was sitting in Wendy's today. I have eaten out a lot, mostly because i haven't gone to the store. Today I was hungry and in need of getting out of the house so I grabbed my journal and a good book and went. Wendy's isn't normally a place one goes to write in a journal, starbucks is more like the place for that. I was writing about what it means to be where I am in life. I am not elder, I am not child, I am adult... yes I am... It took me a while to want to be an adult.

I realize how important it is for the younger to learn from the older. I am blessed to have two mentors, one in ministry one in spirituality. There is so much wisdom that if just passed down would aid so well. Sure, we youthful folk need to make mistakes and mess things up for ourselves, but it is good to have a helpful hand reach into the big pile of crap that I just fell into and help me out. Sometimes I would get frustrated preaching at my old church in West Virginia because I was always told how good I did and that I would be a good preacher some day, and having graduated college and being at least halfway through seminary I was thinking, am I not a preacher now? Can you not hear my words as helpful instead of me being the little kid who gets up and has to be told he did great just because he didn't run out of the pulpit crying (my own words)? Well of course they look at me that way, they have listened to me preach from 12. They watched me grow up, what does a college, or even post college young Adult know about life?

I understand now how lucky I am to have men some twice my age some more some less that can help guide me. The Bible always talks about how the youth should relate to the elders. I don't think Elder is just a position in the church for servant leadership, i think it refers to the people who have gone before me, and can guide me. Of course I think I can learn from them and teach them in dialogue, I believe I do have something as a man in my mid 20's to offer.

Of course that means there is a whole generation below me who can learn from my experience. And people below me I can learn from. It is a neat little circle. For the longest time I didn't like "the man" telling me what to do, what does he know about me. Having been in the position where I am "the man," it makes more sense now.