The Pastor’s Piece – Pastor Kevin Cernek, FCFI Chaplain

February 22, 2026

I met a guy the other day who was from Ontario, Canada. He told us tales of owning a ranch up there and how he fought the cold winters every year, until one year, he and his wife sold the ranch, and moved everything they owned, including their 50 horses to Florida where they bought another ranch. I have no reason not to believe him, but some of his tales seemed unusual with a lot of details missing, causing me to wonder what to believe and what not to believe.

A couple years ago I met another man at the hospital. I was visiting someone from our church who was sick and he was visiting his wife at the same hospital. We met outside on a bench where he was sitting in the sun while she napped in her room. I just said hi on my way by and we ended up chatting a little. He told me how he kept his place and his two sons’ houses in heat all winter. He cut and split wood for all three of their outdoor wood burners. They were busy farming and he thought that was how he could help them the most.

Another time, while visiting someone at the nursing home, I met a lady in the hallway on my way in. She was very happy to see me and although we had never met, she expressed her joy at me finally coming by. We talked for a few minutes. She was in her own world from yesteryear talking about doing chores and making dinner for the boys when they came in from the field. She abruptly ended the conversation by saying she had to get back in the house before they came in hungry and looking for something to eat. And she scooted away down the hall in her wheelchair.

I spent a few hours every week with an elderly couple as the husband was suffering from cancer and nearing death. They were very appreciative of me being there. It was a very trying and sad time. After he died, I tried to encourage and help her as much as I could by visiting and praying and offering help with chores and other things. She was well taken care of by her family and needed very little. One Sunday after church, without warning she approached me and scolded me loudly in front of a few people standing around on why I would think it was appropriate to preach a sermon directly about her. I was surprised, to say the least, as I wasn’t preaching about her, or about anyone for that matter. I was just preaching like I always do. After she got in her car and left, a gentleman came over to me and put his arm on my shoulder and encouraged me not to let what she said bother me. “Everybody has problems in their life,” he said, “and she just chose to take hers out on you.”

One Sunday a couple visited our church for the first time. After the service they said that that was “the best sermon they had ever heard” and wanted to join our church. That same week, another couple, who had been members for a few years, approached me and said they were leaving the church because of that same sermon. That was a bit confusing, but I know my purpose does not come from the praise of men, but from being true to God’s Word. So I chalked it up to people. Everybody’s different. People hear what they want to hear and make their decisions based on that – not necessarily on what was said, but how they took what was said.

Sometimes our greatest victories precede our deepest defeats. In the Bible, Elijah had a standoff on Mount Carmel with Ahab and Jezebel and 450 prophets of Baal. He was greatly outnumbered but by God’s intervention, won the day anyway. The next day, he was hit with depression and found himself in the depths of despair, but God let him rest and provided food for him and helped him through it … and waited until later to address the hardship.

Over the years I’ve learned something about people. Some tell stories that leave you wondering what’s fact and what’s fiction. Some are steady and faithful, quietly serving their families without ever asking for recognition. Some, in their minds, live the life they once knew. Some lash out from their pain. Some praise you on Sunday. Some walk away on Monday. And sometimes it can all happen in the same week.

The truth is, we rarely know the whole story of the person standing in front of us. We hear fragments. We see reactions. We experience their words. But underneath it all are burdens, disappointments, fears, memories, illnesses, private battles, things we may never fully understand. Maybe that’s the lesson for us – everybody has something – whether it’s the tall tales of a story-teller, a woman with dementia, a grieving widow who strikes out in pain, or when one family applauds and another walks – we remember we are not called to figure them out. We are called to be faithful and we leave the unseen battles to God.

(Kevin Cernek is Lead Pastor of Martintown Community Church in Martintown, Wisconsin)