It is currently 5:52 am on a Thursday morning, and I am heading off to do yet another job in the gig economy. I am blessed that I can gig my way to a decent livelihood, but honestly, I am a little jealous of folks who only have one place to go, and know they are going to get a steady paycheck every two weeks. That is a feeling is one that I have not known in nearly a decade.
However, that is one of the costs of following my calling – I have to hustle. Just this week, I will have done consulting work in racial reconciliation, two weddings, consultations on two more weddings, and worked as a technology assistant in a call center. I am tired. But again, that is the cost of following my calling.
Let me repeat a truth – I am jealous of some of my contemporaries who get called to prestigious positions. I am. Several of my classmates and friends are doing amazing things, and getting amazing paychecks. At least three people I speak to on a regular basis are executive directors of organizations, and several more serve in senior leadership positions. Many of my classmates serve as pastors in settled calls, and I can only seem to be called to interim positions, and again, in the spirit of honesty, I am jealous. I want to be able to go to my office and know that it will be my office 6 years from now.
BUT…many of those same classmates tell me how they wish they had my life. They tell me how much freedom I have with choosing my work, and they are correct to an extent. I DO get to choose what gigs I can do, and structure all of them around ministry. I also have the freedom to be available when my family needs me. Doctor’s appointment? I can take them. Lunch with my husband? I can make that happen. A three day weekend? Pre-COVID, that was a possibility. Poppins sick? I can stay home.
And THAT is why I have a good life. I get to do all of the things I love, never get bored, and still be fully available for the ones I love. I may never have a 3 month sabbatical, and I may never know what it is to sit at a closing table, but I have the one thing I have always wanted – peace of mind, stability, and a family. THAT’S a good life.
Oh, and let’s not forget the husband who cooks dinner 27 out of 30 days in a month…
Rev. Guy S. Johnson 