Who Am I?
I was reading this morning in 1 Chronicles 17 after David had been established as king over Israel. The ark was back in Jerusalem. People were celebrating. And then it says that David returned home to bless his family. In verse 16 “King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?”
Don’t you just love it when you start digging into the Word and discover someone verbally putting the words of your heart out there on the pages for you to read? Who am I, O Lord, and what is my family that you have brought us this far? Why us? What did we ever do to deserve such a calling as raising up a community of faith in an area that has none? Who am I to be called to start a church in this place? Are you sure? I mean, come on, you know the junk in my life. You know all those things I struggle with. You see what I’m really like behind closed doors. Seriously? Are you sure you didn’t mean to call her instead of me? Are you sure this is what you want for our family?
Been there?
And the reality is that we are here. God has placed us on this journey of church planting for a reason far greater than we may ever understand. One day it can be overwhelming and the next it can be just as fantastic. And as a mom and a wife there are so many things to consider. We may not have to balance the church budget or craft a new sermon series every month, but many, many things are still required.
Can we handle it? What do we do to prevent burnout? Boundaries, family fun, pastor kids, mommy time, date nights. . .Over the next few weeks leading up to the holiday season we are going to start a conversation about family in the middle of a church plant. You don’t want to miss it!
So here is your opportunity. . .I have some ideas, but where would YOU like to start the conversation? I really hope you will continue to share your stories as we go.
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posted by Amy Colón
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Comments
Nov 14, 2008 at 06:48 AM
What do we do to prevent burnout--I married someone who is excellent at being a Christian, husband, father and pastor, in that order. Umm Hmm. That's what we do. I am not always so great at that, but he keeps us all pointed in the right direction.
Oh, besides my well balanced, well prioritized husband...
This is such a good question, Amy. Right now, I am afraid my answers will be all bragging about my church. Like how we up and left town Monday and Tuesday to drive 2 hours to our old pediatric dentist, because we have not found a new one we like here, and my son had a broken tooth. It ended up getting pulled by an oral surgeon (even the root was broken into pieces) and no one was upset with us for taking off.
Okay, besides a flexible and understanding church family...
I wouldn't say we have a ton of boundaries in some senses. We have a fairly open door policy, and no one abuses it. When people are here (a lot!) we tend to go on with our family lives. If I need to clean or cook, I do, and talk at the same time. I play games with my kids and read them stories and tuck them in. Dan and I sit together and snuggle. At first people who were here felt a little uncomfortable that we did not treat them like guests, but once they got the idea that our home is a family home, they started acting familiar and comfy too. Sometimes people come here and do their work (like grade papers), or surf the internet (cuz our's is the fastest), and we are all just together as we go about our life. Is that weird?
When we need to "get away" it's so easy--we don't answer our phones. That's a huge one. When we don't answer, we don't know what we are missing. In a crisis, we have decided there are others they can turn to also, and people could find us if they really needed to. Turning off the technology has allowed us some good days of uninterrupted family time.
We also use our family and friends as places to go. We have found that hanging with other pastors in other cities is SOO refreshing. When you find out that all churches have their problems, what a relief! And other pastors and their wives have helped us have perspective from an outside viewpoint.
Okay, Amy, I am writing this late at night. If it makes no sense, could you let me know? Thanks! And thanks for keeping this conversation going!
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