What a month! As a minister you expect things to get a little busy in December. The season of course places greater demands on your time as do many people in the congregation and community. You can certainly expect a few school assemblies, extra services of worship, maybe even the odd lunch or carol service. In a month like December 2011 we’ve also had a spate of severe weather warnings covering ice, snow and gales which have all restricted movements. Another very unfortunate aspect of this December has been a couple of congregational deaths which at any other time of year requires time and energy but at this time takes just that little bit more. When we pull all of this together pastoring and preaching does become much busier than at other times of the year and when it does and we’re still trying to find time to spend with our families something has to give.
This is where I become a little ashamed because the one I’ve marginalised in this busyness to make time for all the other stuff is God. I’ve managed to get to a place in my life this Advent where prayers have become rushed and bible study so superficial that as I do both my mind is always somewhere else. I thought about this yesterday and my solution is simple – I need a list. Not a wish list but a priority list. I know only too well that when you get the balance between God time, work time, rest time and family time right that things do go well. So what I’ve done is set my priorities for the season and life out on a sheet of paper and laminated it. My daily stuff, my weekly stuff and my monthly stuff and I provided tick boxes for the Lumocolor pen so that each day in the fog of ministry I know that there are important things I must do: talk to God, listen to God, talk to my wife, listen to my wife, communicate with others and listen to others. We cannot restore the balance on our own without God so there definitely exists a need to create that space for reflection and communication. I know better than this; I was trained to know better yet here I am struggling to give God a portion of my time. I have decided to make some changes to allow peace to reign in my life so that I may discern the path that I must walk. To be useful in my vocation that is not only necessary but critical.
