I have been doing a lot of reflection on this trip about next steps in life for me. I recently resigned from my job to take some time of self-discovery, to find some clarity about what God has gifted me in and where I am excited to invest. Partnering with the Frydlant church this year, meeting the people, experiencing the new community, has been a neat time to think broadly about options for the future. I don’t know if I will necessarily end up serving in the Czech Republic, but it has been encouragement to be willing to think outside the box, outside the current comfortable place I am to consider what new adventures God may have for Matt and I.
On another note, I have been encouraged these last few days in caring for my soul. One of the days at camp, the theme was “soul”. We talked about what are souls are, how it plays into eternity, and how we care for them. I think it may have caused me to do as much thinking as the rest of the students! It was so interesting to think about our soul being the unique person that God creates each of us to be, our eternal being that mirrors God’s image in creativity, justice, relational wiring, etc, and perhaps even where our personality, passions, and gifts reside. How do we care for this? How do we nurture who God created us to be? How do we nurture the relational nature he has deeply rooted in us—with others and with Him?
At the same time these discussions challenged me, I was processing how easy it was to be at camp, investing in students, discussing God, but at the same time not really taking time out for my own soul. Time to sit and ask God what I needed to hear each day and what my team needed to hear. Even time to just care for who God created me to be, time to run or listen to music, time to rest and rejuvenate. Instead, it was easy to just do the next thing we had to do and to try to escape whenever possible.
I was working on reading The Church on the Other Side to write a reflection as a writing sample for my grad school application, and the author said something that caused me to continue thinking about these ideas. McLaren said, “Leadership must once again become a matter of love and spirituality, a place for spiritual sages, not just organizational technicians” (121).
He then goes on to quote Henri Nouwen:
“It is not enough for the priests and ministers of the future to be moral people, well trained, eager to help their fellow humans, and able to respond creatively to the burning issues of their time. All of that is very valuable and important, but it is not the heart of Christian leadership. The central question is, are the leaders of the future truly men and women of God, people with an ardent desire to dwell in God’s presence, to listen to God’s voice, to look at God’s beauty, to touch God’s incarnate Word and to taste fuly God’s infinite goodness?” (121)
What a cool opportunity I have in life during this time of transition to not only seek self-discovery but also to pursue authenticity and to explore rhythms of caring for my soul.
How do you care for your soul?
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