Today I was having a conversation with someone. The conversation skipped around to a few different topics, but self care was one of the main ones. We were talking about how before we could help fill others spiritually we had to be able to fill ourselves. The person I was talking to said, “I need more God in my life, and less church.”
The reference was to spending a great deal of time doing work in the church and not spending enough time with God. Irony? I think so. The person I was talking to is very involved in their church community, and to an outsider, you might be surprised to hear them say this, but I totally understood. I think it’s something that a lot of people need to be reminded of.
A big reason for me applying and wanting to do YAGM this year was to further discern a call to public ministry. I wanted to have more experience working in a church, and see if I could see myself doing this as a career. My position as youth worker at St. Thomas has opened my eyes to many things, the good and the bad, as far as working in a church. One trait that I’ve thought about, that might be seen as a negative, is the idea of enjoying the services I’m not involved in. Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love what I do here, but I do enjoy the services that I am not holding a leadership roll. Most Sundays I leave the service about fifteen minutes in to go lead Bell Towers. This is Sunday Club for the high schoolers. I have enjoyed putting these lessons together, and growing my relationship with these youth, but I have also learned to appreciate the services where I am just a part of the congregation. Where I am able just to sit and take it all in.
Think about yourself and your involvement at your church. Are you over involved? Are you volunteering to be a part of committees, helping out with the youth, and going above and beyond the call of duty? These are all great things, and ones that should be celebrated, but to really serve others, and help others grow in their faith, we have to be serving ourselves spiritually. Don’t think I am taking away from all of the great work that you do for your church and community. What I am saying is make sure you are taking time for yourself. I understand this isn’t natural. We want to give, and it’s hard to be “selfish” with our time, but we have to realize it will make us better and healthier in the long run.
This isn’t easy to write or talk about because I’m in the same boat. You get where you're comfortable and you stay there, or you can’t say no and before you know it you’re so busy with church things there is no time for God. I hope that just pointing this out doesn’t cut down on the amount of things you're involved in, or hinder you from getting involved in different ways. What I do hope it does is it makes you think about taking a small part of your day or week for you. Time set aside for you to grow closer to God. Not for anyone else but yourself. Be selfish sometimes. It’s healthy.
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