One of the challenges of ministry is not to become so consumed with the immediate demands of our work that we lose touch with the one who has called us to ministry. Staying in touch with our vocation and the one who called us to it, can help us cope with times of weariness, disappointment, and even creeping cynicism. There are a number of ways that we can intentionally work to stay in touch with the one who called us but I want to suggest one simple practice that may be of help.
We all have to close our office as we are about to leave for the day. Some are very tidy and leave a clean desk and some like me just group things into piles. In either case, there are some normal routines by which we leave our office for the day. I would like to suggest that you build into that routine an additional ten minutes. At the end of your day, take ten minutes to write about where you feel God present (or absent) in your work. Don’t try to make it profound, literary, or even complete. You only have ten minutes so you may not even complete a thought. Give yourself permission to not need to finish anything. Just write for ten minutes.
The focus of the writing is to bring to awareness God’s involvment in what is taking place in your life at this time. Sometimes it will be where God is in this days activities, sometimes in your anticipation of the coming days, or even where God has been for you lately. If God has not felt present, write about that as well. You may even occasionally want to write about your sense of call at this time in your life. What you are doing is intentionally reflecting on the fact that what you are doing is more than a job. If God has placed you in this situation, however joyous or depressing, stressful or fulfilling, what would God say to you at this moment.
For some people it might be helpful to actually address your writing to God but for others that might seem too much like a game. Whatever works, allow yourself to have these ten minutes to record your thoughts.
You will have to decide whether this works best on a small notebook set aside for this purpose or a special file on your computer. There are also journal programs that you can place on your computer that have other possibilities than just the specific idea that I am suggesting. Occasionally I think you will find it of great value to go back and read what you have been recording over time. Our journeys are never smooth but it helps to at times realize how connected even the most ordinary of days are to our vocation.
