I started this post yesterday and I lost it. I am going to try again.
This year when I went to PDCM, Craig Jutila (Children's Pastor) didn't start off with some PD nuts and bolts...he began with "Do the Little Things That Make the Little Difference That Makes the Big Difference." They were small "tidbits" that while from the outside may not seem like there is a change...but internally you will know. Craig included things such as "Rejoice in the Lord," "Control the Climate," "Carry a Mirror, "Floss Daily," and finally..."Practice Good Enough." He unpacked thaone because he knew people would be stunned. It hit me between the eyes.
He talked about what he meant and what he didn't mean. But, as I told Rob, I am not sure I would know "good enough" if it came up and slapped me! The bottom line was, "Give yourself permission to do the best you can with what you've got." God has a sense of humor. This has come at the "best" time.
As I have talked about, I am in the middle of two (three if you count VBS) big projects at our church. One is the complete refurbishing of the Nursery/Toddler Room. This is more than just a coat of paint (which will be completed on the 27th). It has been writing policies, putting in better safety procedures, background checks, etc. It has meant new furniature, new toys, completing redoing the changing room (the building was built in the days of cloth diapers...the changing rooms were set up for that and have never been changed...they had an interesting method of disposing "solid waste."), adding a dishwasher to sanitize tiys, training a volunteer team, etc.
The second is a new playground. We have been renting office space to a division of YL for several years. They are building their own building right behind us. To make this happen, they had to tear down our existing playground. That playground was 25+ years old. We can't put the equipment back up, they have torn up some of our concerete, etc. They have said they will help with the costs. Anyway, we began this process in February and it is slow going. The playground is designed, I think our Session is 99.9999% behind it and we are even talking about an expansion.
All this is not being completed by me alone. I have teams, elders, etc. on board. But, I have no control over some of this (i.e. one of the elders is has had to travel for work for months now) and I am really having to accept doing the best I can with what I have available at this moment. The good thing is my SP realizes this and is cool with it.
Even with VBS my success is not being evaluated on numbers (he said he sees I have done all I can do publicity wise), but on how well trained the volunteers are. That is actually not a bad thing. I'll take that over the numbers game every time.
As I have been spinning with this and Rob and I have been talking about it...it came down to the core issue...not feeling like I am good enough. He just HAD to throw that in to the mix. He's right though.
This year when I went to PDCM, Craig Jutila (Children's Pastor) didn't start off with some PD nuts and bolts...he began with "Do the Little Things That Make the Little Difference That Makes the Big Difference." They were small "tidbits" that while from the outside may not seem like there is a change...but internally you will know. Craig included things such as "Rejoice in the Lord," "Control the Climate," "Carry a Mirror, "Floss Daily," and finally..."Practice Good Enough." He unpacked thaone because he knew people would be stunned. It hit me between the eyes.
He talked about what he meant and what he didn't mean. But, as I told Rob, I am not sure I would know "good enough" if it came up and slapped me! The bottom line was, "Give yourself permission to do the best you can with what you've got." God has a sense of humor. This has come at the "best" time.
As I have talked about, I am in the middle of two (three if you count VBS) big projects at our church. One is the complete refurbishing of the Nursery/Toddler Room. This is more than just a coat of paint (which will be completed on the 27th). It has been writing policies, putting in better safety procedures, background checks, etc. It has meant new furniature, new toys, completing redoing the changing room (the building was built in the days of cloth diapers...the changing rooms were set up for that and have never been changed...they had an interesting method of disposing "solid waste."), adding a dishwasher to sanitize tiys, training a volunteer team, etc.
The second is a new playground. We have been renting office space to a division of YL for several years. They are building their own building right behind us. To make this happen, they had to tear down our existing playground. That playground was 25+ years old. We can't put the equipment back up, they have torn up some of our concerete, etc. They have said they will help with the costs. Anyway, we began this process in February and it is slow going. The playground is designed, I think our Session is 99.9999% behind it and we are even talking about an expansion.
All this is not being completed by me alone. I have teams, elders, etc. on board. But, I have no control over some of this (i.e. one of the elders is has had to travel for work for months now) and I am really having to accept doing the best I can with what I have available at this moment. The good thing is my SP realizes this and is cool with it.
Even with VBS my success is not being evaluated on numbers (he said he sees I have done all I can do publicity wise), but on how well trained the volunteers are. That is actually not a bad thing. I'll take that over the numbers game every time.
As I have been spinning with this and Rob and I have been talking about it...it came down to the core issue...not feeling like I am good enough. He just HAD to throw that in to the mix. He's right though.
3 comments:
I understand not feeling like you are good enough, and having to do the best with what you are given. I guess for me it just seems like I'm not being given very much at the moment in my current situation, thankfully it isn't church drama this time though
I always remember Jesus's words in Mark 14:8 when the disciples yell at the woman who put the perfume on Jesus
"She did what she could"
When I don't feel like I measure up I sit back, figure if I gave it my best shot, and then say "I did what I could".
Much less stress in my life.
Jay
I practice the good enough principle in the moment well enough...it is Saturday nights and the weeks before big projects that I feel overwhelmed.
Post a Comment