What I've Learned Lately: On Serving

Last Wednesday I went back to helping with Circl3, the high school ministry at my church. I've been leading a small group there since fall of 2009 when my girls were in 9th grade. It's weird that now I am a leader of a group of upperclassmen! Anyway, I took a few months off from serving because my life was feeling a little bit out of control. When I started helping my first year I loved it. And then my second year I started a new job and graduate school and toward the end of the school year, going to Circl3 started to feel like a burden. It was another responsibility piled on top of what I had already. Now don't get me wrong, I love hanging out with my girls, but giving up a weeknight started to get taxing for me.

I started getting really annoying with the small things. Students would be texting during worship or talking during the message and I wanted to scream at them (note: I never did). I assumed it was just a problem with everyone else. What I didn't realize was that I had entirely too many things on my plate and I was simply burnt out. I could no longer focus on the ministry aspect of what I was doing because I was sleep deprived and running through the long list of things I still had to do in my head.

In August I made the decision to take a break from Circl3. I had started my internship, and was still juggling class, work, job searches, and other things as well. Something had to give. I felt like I was letting my girls down, but I knew that at that stage I was useless to them. When I told our volunteer coordinator that I needed a break and explained the situation, she was gracious. They always tell us that we need to first care for ourselves. I told her and my girls that I would possibly come back in the spring, but inside I did not believe that.

By October a strange thing had happened. I had begun to seriously miss both my girls and the ministry itself. I felt that I needed to go back. So the plan was made that I would come back after Rwanda. My girls were way more excited than I thought they'd be. This may sound sappy, but when I got back on wednesday it felt a little like coming home. The break gave me a chance to refocus and coming back I remembered all of the reasons that I had started volunteering in the first place.

So today I guess I'm simply writing to share a little of what I've learned over the last couple of months.

• Rest is okay and necessary at times.
• I'm thankful for a church that values its volunteers and encourages them to take time for themselves when they need it.
• Working with students is one of the best things in the world.
• My girls are amazing!

With some of my girls last Christmas