Letter from Wayne: God’s Plan

When Allisyn asked staff to write letters while she was away, I thought I had this. I picked this date because it coincided with my 8-year work anniversary. I had grand ideas about what I would write. I wrote it. It took me a while and ended up being twice as long as most of the letters you read. Then I sought feedback from my wife. And very politely, she told me it was garbage. I had to rewrite the entire thing just a few hours before my 4 pm deadline.

I began reflecting on what had happened just moments ago. I couldn’t help but feel like the whole thing was an analogy about God’s plan and our own. I scrapped the entire letter. All that time, all my thoughts and even the artwork I made for it. I felt like I had failed.

But failure isn’t entirely a bad thing. If you’re trying to do something, especially something new, you’re going to fail. It’s just part of the process. The important part is what you do with that failure. Do you learn from it? Do you adjust? Where do you go from here?

Eight years ago, I came to work here after purposely abandoning the hospitality industry. An industry which I had endured for far too long with little passion. Some may look at that as a failure. But it brought me here, and into a role which has given me meaning and purpose that no job in a hotel could. It brought me to a community full of people who try to love Christ, serve others and welcome all.

I’m reminded of something that happened recently here at the cathedral. It was suggested by our family Ministry Leader Taylor that we should start announcing when families in our community give birth. We send emails about deaths, why not life? Everyone in the staff meeting enthusiastically agreed that it had been a missed opportunity for far too long.

The content was forwarded to me. I put together the body of the email. Then I got to the subject line. No one had provided that. So, I did what any good communications person would do and spent far too much time thinking about the messaging we were trying to convey. I tried to make it concise and touch on the fact that we were celebrating something new in our community. I had it! I wrote “Celebration of Life from the Bores Family” and clicked send. …Then the emails started coming in from alarmed parishioners. I had failed. Failed to remember that the phrase “celebration of life” is often associated with funerals. Not to mention, failed to consider the context that when people get emails from us, on days other than Thursday, it’s also usually associated with a death.

So now, on my eight-year anniversary with you, I write about failure. I believe God has a sense of humor. I look forward to serving this community in the years to come and moments of comedic relief in my own growth.