Everything’s fine…

That is what I keep telling myself. The truth is that it is not.

I have no new ideas.

 

I see your ideas on Facebook and hear them in Zoom meetings. I do. They’re great. I read them and feel like I am in 8th grade again and am jealous of Kristin’s Guess Jeans. I want a triangle on my bum, but my mom says I have to pay for half and I am lazy. I am jealous of the ideas, but am so burnt out right now.

 

Am I down on myself? For sure, but after meeting with the Hope4CE Steering Committee I know that I am not alone. We are all feeling it. Maybe you can’t pack one more bag, do one more porch drop off, edit one more video, look at one more poorly attended Zoom meeting. I am here to tell you that it is ok.

 

Last March when this all started we were in a frenzy. Don’t roll your eyes but I actually found it exciting. After 16 years of doing Christian Education I felt like I had a new job. Creativity from colleagues around the world abounded. We rallied together to create new ways to connect with our congregations and it was truly something special. I felt motivated to put everything out there knowing that our congregants were struggling. The first couple months of shut-down I took screen shots of ideas others had in Facebook groups. I sat down one day to write down all of the ideas so I could delete the pictures and it took up two pieces of notebook paper, front and back. I did most of them and with much success. I did the Lent bags, Advent wreath bags, back to school bags, porch drop-offs were endless, parking lot events, children’s sermons featuring my diva dog that I painstakingly edit, the virtual Christmas Pageant, made trivia games weekly…the list goes on and on. It felt life giving at first. Here I was creating new things instead of just plugging in things: this VBS curriculum, this Sunday school curriculum, this youth group game. We were able to re-create our jobs. It was thrilling!

 

Now, not so much. I am excited for you and all your good ideas. I support you, but I am done. Not done with my job. I deeply love what I do and will continue to give my church 100%, but I am giving myself a break from ideas. I am not packing Lent bags, I don’t even know what I am doing yet and I am ok with that. I do know that I will check in with my families, stay connected with my youth, let them all know that they are loved and are being prayed for. What I won’t do is add to the burnout I am already experiencing.

 

 

When I started in education, congregants would invited me to coffee or lunch. I thought “how cool!”, they want to be friends. No. You work at a church, you are therefore a professional listener. People want to share with you. They want you to listen and tell them that all will be well. No one tells you that in ministry that you will also be a therapist when you didn’t go to Seminary and kind of fell into your call. We have carried the weight of so many over the years. We singlehandedly re-created our entire jobs within days. We have held them up DURING A PANDEMIC! I will repeat that: A FREAKING PANDEMIC! Not to mention the unrest and chaos that surrounded us at the same time. We did this. We did it together. Cut yourself some slack. Take something off of your work plate and take care of you. I know for a fact that most of you have not been practicing self-care. And if your self care has looked like mine, it has involved a wine glass and there are probably better ways.

Personally I will still involve a wine glass in moderation of course. I will listen to myself and pull back even though I am still chasing those Guess Jeans. I might even have an idea or two that I will post and you will say “no thanks, I don’t need those jeans the pair I have are fine.” You all and your ideas got me through this and will continue to inspire me, but I will also take care of me and you take care of you. Everything is not fine and that is ok.