Digging out...

After another short vacation--I've had more than my usual opportunities be away during this transitional year--what I dread most is digging out of my e-mails, mail, appointment calendar, contact list, and all that goes along with being a senior pastor, part-time counselor, Hospice chaplain and volunteer coordinator for TLCHaiti.

I am not trying ti impress you with all of the hats I currently wear, but to strike a point of identification with many of you who may face the same  pressures of trying to dig out of a mountain of tasks that seem at first glance overwhelming.

Here is what I am learning.

1.  I begin with prayer.  I acknowledge that I am not God (sometime I fancy myself as a cosmic counselor who can fix everyone, everything...I know, arrogant and foolish) and then I remind myself that I desperately need God if anything I am going to do will make any difference.

2.  I make lists.  Those lists contain categories that relate to my four positions and also include my household responsibilities, i.e. projects, chores, family events, etc.  usually, just composing the lists is overwhelming and I find myself usually having to add to them as the process unfolds.  I also have an appointment book with columns identifying the various areas of responsibility so I can coordinate my tasks (I have to write them down alongside each other or I double-schedule myself..."senior-itis").

3.  I decide what is most important (this is subject to internal "arm-wrestling" as I establish priorities) and then begin to add to my calendar what will be part of my week's schedule.  Some things get left off the list--yes, it's impossible to meet everyone's demands--and set for a later time with all the appropriate and courteous communication to cover my bases.

4.  I set boundaries (I here someone laughing in the background...really?).  I mark off time for myself--exercise, time with Beverly, study--or else the tyranny of the urgent will make a mockery of my schedule.

5.  I pray daily.  I ask God to help me enjoy the journey--to not be so focused on getting to the end of the week, the end of the list, the end of the task--that I miss the joy of the time spent doing the things to which he has called me.  I hope you, too, have a sense of calling in your work, whatever it may be, so that your tasks are ennobled by a sense of sustaining purpose in seeking to please God with the promise of a fulfilled life.

Even if you are busy digging out.