Innocents

I love the wonder and joy that comes from building a new team.  Inevitably, everything is new for the staff involved.  The process is new.  The potential pitfalls are unknown.  Every step is one of discovery, experience – incredible memory writers!  They are fill with wonder and awe.  It is wonderful to watch, yet painful at the same time.
I have been through the process more than once.  Initially, I was one of the children.  I stumbled along, excited, amazed beyond belief that I was actually part of a process like this!  Everything was fresh, wonderful, and new.  Each mistake was a fun learning experience.  I wondered then how my boss could be so calm; little did I understand what it would be like to walk in his shoes in the future.
Having been down the path more than once, I still find myself seeing, learning, and understanding things differently.  The process is still hard, but it does get a bit easier.  The biggest change that I find within myself is the way I see the mistaken actions of others.  Initially I was extremely judgmental.  My expectations were high.  I could not understand why they could not see what I could see.  Whatever their rationale was, it was something that could be avoided.  As we repeat the same road with the current team, I find myself filled with patience, sorrow, and compassion.  I know we have to go down this path in order to grow together.  I wish that it did not have to be; yet, it seems to be our way.  In the midst of a major mistake, I find myself whispering, “Friends, I know you had no idea what you were doing when you killed Jesus, and neither did your leaders.”  (Acts 3.17)
The question then and now is this; in the midst of our mistakes, our humanness, will we be present, learning, and take a positive decision?  If not, we will repeat the past.  If so, we will move forward.  This opportunity is here, now, for you and me.  What happens is the future.