Was talking to a group of pastors about their expectations as they entered the ministry. Several were quite eloquent and open about their surprises. Some were surprised at the level of burden and that lack of joy in the work. Some were surprised that the job of pastor wasn’t as eternity focused as they expected. Here’s an amalgam of phrases said by some: “I thought I was going to be dealing with weighty matters, life changing stuff, the stuff of soul care. But instead I’m dealing with policies, criticisms, and other mundane things most of the time.”
When talking to my wife, she so wisely said, “yeah, just like the work of a mother.” You know you are shaping souls and working to grow young boys (in our family anyway) into mature men. But most days you are dealing with socks, runny noses, and whiny, ungrateful kids.”
Yeah, mothers and pastors work for weighty, eternal matters. But day by day it is hard to keep that in focus.
Musings on Faith and Psychology 
Well said!
Paul used the allusion of his being in a perpetual state of “labor”, agonizing over the Galatian church’s pursuit of maturity (or lack thereof) in Galatians 4:19. Indeed, even God’s curse of Genesis 3:16 indicates that a woman’s portion in the Fall included not only the birthing pains, but enduring the pains and frustrations associated with “bring(ing) forth children”, or rearing them to adulthood and launching. I suppose it’s one thing for, say a Industrial Arts teacher to be disappointed that his students can’t construct a birdhouse or toolbox with deft; they’ll have to buy their birdhouses and toolboxes at Wal-Mart when they can afford them in the future. But no one who trains people in the arts of character building and personal godliness has the luxury of not grieving over the lack of progress of those in their charge…the price is much higher to the “student” down the road.
Yes. And yes. The holy mundane in shepherding … children and sheep.
Just heard a good one: “prayer is talking to God, meditation is listening to God.”