by Mark Zeiger

Created on: March 07, 2009   Last Updated: February 20, 2011

My Dad is a minister. In followed his calling he felt particularly led to serve small, poor churches. He served them in every sense of the word, not just through preaching, counseling, calling on the sick and the elderly, but by using his considerable and varied skills and talents to maintain the church, its properties, and its people. Dad is very good at working with his hands. He knows his plumbing, electrical systems, automotive repair and maintenance, carpentry and more. He could have used any number of these skill sets as a career, making himself and his family very comfortable. Instead, he used his talents to keep the churches he served from needing to hire tradesmen to repair the church or the manse. No professional house painters came near the church properties while Dad held the pulpit. Professionals may have been called for major installations or overhauls, but even then Dad usually knew enough about the work at hand that he could assist, and defray the cost of their services.

Dad was fond of saying that in his job the pay wasn't much, "but the benefits are out of this world!" At times that was cold comfort for his family. Some of the churches paid us from the offering plate. When people didn't contribute enough to the offering, we went without. My brother and I had a meager allowance for a while before we got out and started working on our own, but some months we'd do without, because the offering plates were empty. Occasionally, we did without far more than allowance.

I learned early the value of secondhand clothes. Every church Dad served had its manse right next door, and we could see people go in and out of the church. I remember many times when Mom would call from the kitchen, "Someone just dropped off a box of rummage. You boys need pants - go look and see if they left anything in your size." Luckily, I never felt self-conscious about hand-me-downs. If I wanted something new rather than pre-owned, I saved up and bought it myself.

Ultimately, I benefited from the life, because it taught me how to live well on less. I pursued a career that was a lot of fun, but would never make me rich. I used the skills I learned growing up to get by on what little I made, to enjoy what I had, and to dismiss the good things I might want but couldn't afford. I learned that enjoying life is a matter of attitude more than what you own, and how much.

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