Today's highlight was lunch at Arivederci Italian Restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona, for the farewell luncheon for Ivan Weiss, my predecessor in the Office of Education.
It was a bit overdue, considering he retired at the end of June. But the summer schedule was so discombobulated that the office personnel was unable to get together until today. On the other hand, Mr. Weiss had given over 40 years of service to this denomination in roles ranging from pastor to teacher to principal to superintendent. His wife and he lived in faraway places across America setting their lives aside to serve their church. He invested his life in the lives of hundreds of students, many of whom he would probably never see again. Yet he did it. For what?
It was obviously not for the perks offered by the financial windfall that comes with retirement. It was not for the acclaim and fame that comes with tireless toil in anonymity. It certainly was not for the card and roses given after the meal at an Italian restaurant, nice as they might have been (something about a cruise).
I sense that Mr. Weiss did it because, as he so eloquently stated, "I am just a servant." Kudos to you, Ivan Weiss! The world needs more Ivan Weisses. It's not about power or recognition, fame or fortune. It's for the sheer joy that comes with planting seeds for the Kingdom of God.
Johnny Appleseed, here I come! May I live long enough to look back and see God's handiwork in the wake of my life.
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