Devin Strong, Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church

Six long-term congregations, four short-term assignments, and one campus ministry; inside these are four major building projects, at least 200 baptisms, confirmations, weddings, and funerals, and some 2,000 sermons across four states.

These are some numbers that I think about as I prepare to celebrate 35 years of ordained ministry at the end of this month, but it’s all pretty ordinary for a Lutheran pastor, especially when I compare my days to the work lives of some of my parishioners. I have been blessed to serve alongside an FBI Agent and a couple of spies for the CIA. My congregations have included police officers and prison guards, soldiers, secretaries, and PhD students, nannies and nurses, entrepreneurs and engineers, grandparents and groundskeepers, doctors and dentists, techies and teachers. Perhaps the most high-profile church members that I served include the President of the Georgia Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank and a retired Secret Service Agent who once served on a presidential detail. I have known so many people who have more dangerous and exciting jobs than mine. One reading of my career would say that all I have done is serve a bit of alcohol and a bite of bread. I have washed some babies, and I give a book report on the same book (or group of books) week after week!

The thing is, no matter what their careers, I am willing to bet that almost to a person, people would say that their days are pretty ordinary.

We all do routine tasks and paperwork. We have silly conflicts and dear work friends.

Almost none of us does anything in our careers that ever makes the news. Sure, we each have a few heart pounding stories, and if we have been very lucky, maybe we bumped into a famous person or two along the way, but when you add up a lifetime of work, many of us wonder if we accomplished anything of lasting consequence.

But the real value is not in the titles or the headlines, the names or the numbers. The value of your work lies in the depth of your service to others. By showing up each day, every one of you makes the lives of those around you better. You help and you listen, you laugh and you care. You mentor and you encourage.

You fix, and you sweat. You move the vital work of agencies and schools, companies and organizations forward.

YOU make a difference in the lives of countless people without even knowing it.

This is what Martin Luther calls the holy work of vocation, and it is one of the greatest gifts that God gives us, whether the world notices or not, whether we are paid for our labor or not. You and I get to be part of the human community where we can share our exceptional skills and our quiet presence to make the world a better place. We get to attend mind-numbing meeting and work for people who have their own bag full of failures and foibles, and we get to be the very hands, feet, and heart of God in the world.

Whether you are at the beginning of the race, trying move ahead in the middle of the pack, or rounding the final turn toward the clubhouse, like me, know that God made you for a holy purpose.

You are doing magnificent work, and you matter exponentially in the lives of those around you!