Sidekick

I was so encouraged by a conversation that I had with Carisa tonight. We were talking about how people perceive me, especially here in Philly. People that meet me now see me as the "boss", which I really don't like. What they don't see is that for the last several years, I have been the "sidekick". I never really thought about it that way, but its so true!!

I started working alongside Elizabeth, basically as her sidekick. I did the stuff she couldn't, so that she would be able to do what she was best at. When I moved to staff at Cornerstone, I became Carisa's sidekick. She ran things, was the up front person and I was behind the scenes doing whatever was necessary. I LOVED it! That is the role I feel most comfortable in, which is something you probably wouldn't know if you just met me, since I am definitely no longer behind the scenes.

I spent my first 2 years on staff with several people in the church thinking I was an intern or college student. Even several staff members had no idea what I really did; which was perfectly fine with me. I very much enjoyed staying under the radar. As Carisa put it, I don't care if my name ever ends up on anything.

I started After-School with Carisa. Slowly, she had to back away from that leaving me in charge. I came into Prayer Pals to help Carisa, and as the program grew we realized that I would need to take charge of part of it (now we each have our own nights that we are responsible for). And of course, there is Kids Club. Again, I started as a leader helping Carisa out. Now, I am THE leader. (I am even taking more and more leadership among the teen ministry, especially with the girls as other leaders are stepping back). While these are roles I now feel very called to, they were in no way my goal now even my dream. In fact, I'm still not completely comfortable in them, and I'm not sure I ever will be. In many ways, I think I will always be most comfortable as the sidekick.

That actually brings me to my next point. While I am no longer Elizabeth or Carisa's sidekick, I am still very much a sidekick...God's sidekick. I will be the first to admit that sounds ridiculously corny, but its also true.

As you can read from my last several blog posts, I am learning more and more about just how in charge God really is. And, I am SO GLAD!!

There are several reasons I like being the sidekick:

1) I don't like the attention of being the "up front" person
(God deserves all the Glory anyway!!)

2) I don't like the pressure of being the person in charge
(God has the plan, not me!)

3) I don't like to fail
(God NEVER fails, and redeems EVERYTHING for His glory!)

So, while apparently God feels that I need to be more "up front" than I ever wanted to be, I take a lot of comfort in knowing that I am not now, nor will I ever be, the one in charge!! :)