Balancing The Personal And Professional

If you are in ministry there will be times when your job leaks into personal life.  And then there will be times when your personal life will leak into your job.  It’s a blessing and curse.

When teens call you on a Friday night it means they see you as someone who can help them.  If you worship where you work it shows that you value the place that employs you.  Again, a career in ministry is a blessing and a curse.  The goal is to find a healthy balance.  And the reality is that:

IT CAN FEEL IMPOSSIBLE

The truth is that it isn’t.  To balance personal and professional you need to:

RECOGNIZE THE TENSION

If you try to make everything black and white you’ll only find frustration.  There are going to be times when family trumps work and work trumps family.  If you deny that then you’ll only find yourself letting others down.

Acknowledge that finding balance is hard.  Have that conversation with your spouse, your kids and your coworkers.  They will help you and hold you accountable to what’s important.

COMMUNICATE BOUNDARIES

Boundaries will help others navigate the balance you are trying to establish.  My team knows that I’m off most Fridays and Saturdays.  That means you should only contact me if:

• You want to hang out.

• It’s an emergency (i.e. Something only I can assist them with).

• They want to take me on their private jet to some crazy once in a life time event.

Not only do your coworkers and volunteers need to know your boundaries but so does family.  My family knows I work Sunday so when it comes to planning family events they work at all costs to avoid it.

There will be times when boundaries need to be crossed but these should be the exception and not the norm.

EMBRACE TIME TO REFUEL AND REST

The reason we loose balance or cross boundaries is because we are squeezing everything into limited time.  If you are not well rested you cannot make wise decisions.  If you do not refuel you will find yourself squandering time that should be focused on productivity.

Schedule in rest like it’s a doctor’s appointment.  Protect it and only compromise it in times of emergency.  Use it as an opportunity for God to refuel you for what lies ahead.

To find balance you need to continuously work at it.  Do not assume that everything will just fall into place.  Lean into God and seek accountability.  Know it’s possible and keep working towards it.