I've been in full time ministry now for 1yr and 7months. I know its not long, hang with me, this is not a life lesson, its a question.
As the months have come and gone, I'm realizing that this is a major balancing act.
On one side I work in the live production side of ministry, so that means that long hours to get the job done will most definitely happen. That's just the nature of the job, the territory that comes with it.
Then there's family time. Long hours + get home late + less time with the fam = mom being very angry. Although my family understands and is grateful of the job God has provided at Flamingo, its still hard at times.
And on the other side is friends. I don't want to do life alone, and I really enjoy spending time with friends. Whether it be a simple night of hanging together, or a trip over to Naples to check out the beach.
So I've been trying to find a happy balance. But I know that as a production guy, I will never find a happy balance. My schedule will continually change and move around. I don't even have a set day off, its either Tuesdays or Fridays depending on the weeks work shedule and the things on the to-do list.
I'm not saying all this to complain. Not at all! I LOVE my job. I cant believe that God has given me, sinful and in need of healing, this blessing and major responsibility.
I just want to hear from you out there. Yes you reading this post.
How do you do it? How do you balance it all together? Is there a system, a formula? What advice can you share?
Here's a pic of the fam on my brothers wedding day :)
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2 comments:
I thought alot agbout what to leave on this comment. mainly because i realized that I have the same "problem" staring me in the face.
I think that a good way of keeping that in check is asking the Holy Spirit for "guidance" in that. kinda the same way we ask to be sensitive to God's will, we could be sensitive to what needs attention in our "balance act"
but then the question that always comes up with me is, "what are you supposed to do if your fam doesnt do anything? how do you "spend time" with them?"
I guess it differs with families, but what qualifies as quality time?
I don't think there is a job on this earth, much less in the church, that is worthy of pursuing that will cause you to be terribly unbalanced like you are, my friend.
The fact that you are experiencing this within the context of church is troublesome. Ministry should not take this much time away from you to the point where your holistic self is being damaged. Ministry includes all areas of your life, not just the production side of a church project.
If you find that the job you have, anywhere (and more so in the church), is causing you to be in deficit in an area of your life that is more important than such a job, the area of love (that is, the one of cultivating relationships in the manner of Jesus' golden rule: love God and love your neighbor as yourself), then you should really re-evaluate that position and redefine what being "blessed by God" is.
Does God want you to bless you with a job that tears apart the important relationships and friendships in your life while working long hours in the church building and calling that "ministry"?
or
Does God want to bless you with something equally as fulfilling, as far as your purpose and your gifts and talents, while at the same time giving you the time to cultivate those relationships and friendships in your life and holding true to the one command that is above all: love?
Define "blessing".
Blessings, friend :) Hope this gets you thinking. No job is worth losing relationships. God wouldn't want that. God's church shouldn't do that to God's people.
God instituted a day of rest..God created us for relationships, not for work.
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