Comfort for a Preacher

A funny and comforting story for preachers:  

In a recent issue of GLASS Window, a contributor recalls that several years ago, The British Weekly published this provocative letter:

   "Dear Sir: It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a great deal of time preparing them. I have been attending church quite regularly for 30 years and I have probably heard 3,000 of them. To my consternation, I discovered I cannot remember a single sermon. I wonder if a minister's time might be more profitably spent on something else?"

   For weeks a storm of editorial responses ensued ... finally ended by this letter: "Dear Sir: I have been married for 30 years. During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals--mostly my wife's cooking. Suddenly I have discovered I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet ... I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death long ago."

   -- John Schletewitz, Poway, California. Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 2.