There has been so much rain today that much of the area is under a flash flood watch. Tomorrow's forecast? More rain. I wonder if the nearby areas on Boy Scout and Sandswitch will flood? There have been times in the past where they have called off schools because of potential flood hazards. YIKES!! After a long holiday weekend, that would not be good!! Be gone thought!
Rainy days can be good.... good for mugs of hot cider, studying Greek, watching a little bit of football, and watching the drips come inside from the roof in the sun porch. Drip, drip, drop. Thankfully, our bread pans fit perfectly on the window sill to catch the rain. We've emptied them out a couple of times already.
I've been practicing parsing Greek verbs in the imperfect tense today and practicing the vocabulary for Chapter 10. I will take the quiz sometime tomorrow evening. Then, it will be on to the future tense. Whew! I wish I had more time to invest in Greek. It isn't that I haven't invested time (because I have), it's just that I could spend double the time I'm spending and probably still not get it all.
There is so much left to be done that I'm struggling with simply "being" right now. I would like to "be still and know..." yet I have two reflection papers to write, job stuff to take care of, mentored ministry hours to accumulate, things to check in on, etc. And, I must not forget the roles of parenting and wife. Tonight I got to be parent to a tired child who had travelled to Kentucky and back for a quick overnighter with some friends. She had inadvertedly recycled a homework assignment that explained what was due on Friday, Dec. 2nd. Being chilly, rainy, and dark outside, I brought the recycle bin inside and dumped its contents on our tile floor. What a relief to find that pale yellow piece of paper!
To my left is a book, one of the resources for which I need to write a reflection paper. It is entitled: Reframing Your Ministry: Balancing Professional Responsibilities & Personal Needs. It is by Anthony J. Headley. I thought I had been doing a decent job of that through the years (more recently). I have been listening to my body and recognizing that when my body says I need rest, I'd better take it. I have been "Mom" over other roles and was able to work my teaching schedule around that. Yet, this book has challenged me to a new level of thinking with its contents. Not only through the words on the page, but I've had the opportunity to live it out throughout this semester on several occasions.
It has caused me to think, reflect, and become more firm in my commitment to take care of myself prior to attempting to take care of others. That means rest, accountability, study, etc. I must make sure that I am living in an intimate relationship with the One I am following. I am learning to live into what I knew in my heart and mind, that taking care of one's self is ministry. In fact, it is foundational. Additionally, I am determined to put my family before the needs of external ministry, recognizing that ministry to my family is ministry. From this solid foundation will flow ministry to others.
The book has lots of examples of folks that have done it the other way for many years and they have found themselves burned out, giving up, empty, etc. I want to offer living water. I can only do that if I drink from the fountain.
It's a balancing act. There are muscles that still need to grow. Yet, I have been challenged in the past two weeks with both self-care and family situations, and I believe I made the right choices. Now, to continue to make these types of choices when the stakes are higher and it is no longer simply for course I'm taking. Hopefully my muscles will be stronger then. Hopefully I'll have walked the path and will know what it feels like.
The pitter patter of the rain drops landing in the metal pans is lulling me to sleep now. It is time for rest.
So much rain...
Good night,
May your journey include some peaceful rain and rest,
Debra
No comments:
Post a Comment