A recent conversation with Monday Morning Women at St. John about time stewardship prompted some other thoughts, so behold this blog (with wisdom and wit, both up for debate)
I’ve had “write time stewardship blog” on my To-Do list for almost a year (like, actually). To be fair, there are really big things on that list too, such as “Evangelism/Church Growth” and “Discipleship Trail Map.” You have time for what you prioritize (sometimes). Also, sometimes it’s best just to bite the bullet and get it done and cross it off the list for good! A friend once told me a proverb (from Tibet maybe?) that goes somewhat like, “If you have to eat a frog, eat it first.” Do the hard thing that you are dreading now and get it out of the way! What do you have on your list today that has been bugging you for a while? What would it take to make some progress on it?
I often don’t get to some of the big or little things on my list because I feel like I’m too stressed and don’t have time. A friend (the same one) once told me that stress is like packing for vacation. No matter the size of your suitcase, you always fill it up. The same is true for stress. Truthfully, I have a very small suitcase right now, but it still feels full at times. This helps me remember that I really do have time for all those little nagging things and even those big things when I ignore the little things for a while. Maybe your suitcase is gigantic right now and overflowing. How many extra sweaters do you have stuffed in there? What can you give to someone else?
Avoid time-sucks. As someone who cares deeply about doing things with high standards and is sometimes afraid of making a mistake (I’m a 1 on the Enneagram, see here: https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-1), I sometimes want to avoid that stress of messing up by not tackling the task in the first place. I know this about myself, and recognize my behaviors as avoidance. It might not be true for you. But for all the other 1’s out there, just jump in and do it, the biggest critic of your work is probably yourself.
Flow is real. Watch this TED Talk (https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow?language=en) and then try to find your balance between challenge and skill. When you are in flow, time moves fast but you move faster.
Plan your day and your week. You have three chunks of time each day. Morning, Afternoon, Night. That’s it! How are you using them? How do you want to be using them?
You are the boss of you. I know this sounds obvious, but sometimes we need the reminder. Sometimes I joke that I just do whatever my phone calendar tells me to do next. But I make the calendar! I schedule doctor’s appointments and meetings. It’s okay to schedule rest, workouts, and dinner with family too.
Time is a gift from God. Being a steward of God’s gifts means giving our time in ways that are worthy of God. Sleep. Eating good food. Spending time with loved ones. Worship. Work and talent development. Rest. All (and more!) worthy of God. What do you feel God drawing you to give time to? What does that mean letting go of?
22 minutes later and that’s one more thing off the list for me! Praise God who doesn’t measure us by the length of our to-do lists. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Pastor Emily ☺