Have you cleaned your side mirrors today?

It's a misty, rainy, slushy Ohio day today. We're sitting at a stop light. The trucker just ahead of me is taking advantage of the "down time" to wipe off his side view mirrors.

That got me thinking. What are side mirrors for? They help us see what's behind us. They help us navigate from lane to lane while driving.

The Application to Serving Strong:

We can learn a lot about ourselves by looking behind us occasionally. Think back to a day when simply everything went your way. You were serving "in the zone". Stuff was clicking. You were on the top of your game. Ministry seemed easy. Now, ask yourself, "What was I doing?" "What was going on around me?" "How was I honoring my values?" "What brought joy to my heart?" These questions help us learn from the experience. We don't simply live the moment, we learn from it - hopefully to create more moments like those.

The same can be done with a rotten day. Think back to a time when everything went wrong. You were out of your element. You felt cheated. You seemed weak. Ministry seemed too hard. Now, ask yourself those same questions above. You can learn from your experiences, whether great or awful.

But life tends to take over. We end up going from task to task without the opportunity to look back and learn in this way.

SO, remember to make use of life's "down times" and wipe off your side mirrors. Make time to think back. What can you learn about yourself. The more we understand how God has wired us, the better we are able to Serve Strong!

Comments

[Robert @ reason4smile]

Hi Scott, I like the idea in your blog, Christian minister do really need this, to avoid them feeling overloaded and burnt out.

Agree with your point, reflect on our S.H.A.P.E, find out what is our calling, and only afterwards we can really serve strong!

Hope that your blog can touch much more lives, helping us to help and serve stronger, while keeping our relationship with God!

I'm going to stumble this post!
Robert

[Scott Couchenour]

Thanks for your comments, Robert. I do believe that with proper life balance and self care, those who sense a call on their life to help other people will be able to do so with effectiveness and be able to finish strong.