Irreplaceable

This past week I was away with my family on a wonderful vacation at the Jersey Shore.  We played in the sand, rode rides on the boardwalk, ate more ice cream than we typically eat in 2 months, and had a blast being together without the normal life distractions.  We slept in a cabin (or cabinet as Zachary calls it), ate hot dogs that were cooked over an open fire, and and enjoyed what nature had to offer.  I wish I could say that I was 100% in the moment.  I wish I could say that my head was where it should have been.  But, it wasn't...  While on vacation with my amazing husband and fantastic boys, my head was not always focused on the here and now.  Rather, it drifted off into thoughts of insecurity and fear. 

For the most part I was able to push it aside, but Sunday morning I woke up in a funk.  I woke up feeling like I wasn't needed.  That there wasn't anything I could offer to my family or to my work that someone else couldn't offer as well, if not better than me.  I was faced with knowing that in order to have a Sunday off, that there were 3 very capable, wonderful women doing my job.  And I knew that they were doing it well!  (This is when most people would be thrilled to sleep in and know that fabulous people were in control...)  All of my thoughts lead me to believe that I was replaceable. 

The nagging thoughts from the week hit me full force as I went through my morning. And then the moment came when I heard what I so desperately needed to hear.  I heard the truth. I heard that yes, those 3 amazing women did a fantastic job.  They ministered to families and showed God's love in a way that makes me quite proud.  And, although they were doing a part of my "job", they were in no way replacing me.  Rather, they were growing and maturing along side me.

It is heard every so often in ministry that your goal should be to work yourself out of a job.  How I have taken that for many years is that you should be working on shaping replacements for yourself. But as I was in the gym tonight, it became very clear to me that I was totally wrong.  It's NOT about replacing myself...  It's about building up others to do ministry they have been called to do.  It's about growing and maturing those in ministry so that they can continue building and loving and partnering. And as those people grow and mature, I can continue with ministry the way God calls me to, knowing that what has been built will not only remain, but will grow. It's definitely not about finding replacements.

No one is replaceable.  God has made us irreplaceable.  He has made each of us unique, with a mixture of qualities and personalities that no one else has.  Yes, sometimes, someone can come in and do your job.  Sometimes it might even seem they can do it better.  BUT, that doesn't mean you are replaceable.  No one else on this earth is exactly like you.  There is absolutely no one else who is wired just like me (and I am pretty confident that's a very good thing)! Our roles shift, our jobs change, but at no point can anybody be us. We are irreplaceable. And that's how it should be.