Have you ever started something with great enthusiasm and then found it hard to continue?
You were motivated, inspired, and convinced your future would be different than your past.
The key of course is that you were motivated, inspired, and convinced but now all of the enthusiasm has passed.
What happened?
Life.
If you’re like me you have legitimate reasons for why you weren’t able to continue with your goals or this new lifestyle. The problem is that deep down we still feel a sense of guilt for not keeping a promise we made to ourselves. “This time” doesn’t feel much different than “last time.”
Life for me over the last 6 months has been completely crazy!
If you told me that moving from a portable church to a church with their own facility would have been as demanding as it has been I would have thought you were out of your mind. There was no way a permanent place would be more difficult than being portable.
Don’t misunderstand me, having a building is easier in so many aspects except one…our systems.
We were a well-oiled machine as a portable church with a system for everything. I had very little involvement in the operations side.
The day we moved into a permanent place that completely changed. Now every single one of our systems had to change. In fact, in some cases we had no systems at all for who unlocks the building, cleans the building, unclogs toilets, landscaping, security, fire alarms, temperature settings, room usage, general maintenance, and a host of other behind the scenes systems that keep any facility running. I’ve been working hard to get the physical plant piece off of my plate.
On top of all that we added a new service on a different day, my kids started a new school, and we moved to a different home. Not only do I have work systems to create, but we have new systems and rhythms to learn in our personal life. Then to spice things up I had shoulder surgery.
Because of all of these changes I dropped some balls. The biggest were working out, blogging, and social media. I knew I was dropping those balls and it was killing me. Some of you kindly told me you missed my post when I would miss a week here or there (I appreciate the encouragement and accountability!). One not so kind person asked me in a front of a group of people if I had gained some weight because I looked like I had. As embarrassing as it was he was right.
I joined the gym that week and went to work on losing the 16lbs I gained over this crazy season. (Wow it was painful to write that!) Today I’m down 5.5lbs and making progress.
I have plenty of good excuses for my reality, but the excuses didn’t change my reality. Thankfully my core responsibilities didn’t drop. My family is still strong and the church is doing great, but I knew I was letting myself down.
What’s an area where you have dropped the ball?
I’m sure you have some excellent reasons just like I do. I bet your life is crazier than mine with even more balls in the air. Those reasons, while valid, explain our behavior, but they don’t change it.
The longer you stay away from something the harder it is to get back to it. It’s true whether it’s working out or going to church. With each passing absence, the rationalization gets easier and easier.
What if today you took the step to get back on track?
What’s one thing you could do today to move toward the healthy version of yourself that you want to be?
-Schedule a date night
-Schedule a doctor’s appointment
-Go to church
-Start saving
-Read the Bible
-Sign up for a class at the gym.
I’m betting you know what ball you’ve dropped and it’s bugging you. I want to encourage you to pick it back up. I promise you the regret and guilt will end as soon as you do.
Forget being perfect and focus on progress. If perfection was possible the cross would be pointless.
Something else I found is that when you pick up one ball and start making progress it’s significantly easier to pick up another one.
Sometimes to make advancements in one area another area has to take a back seat. That’s okay as long as it’s just for a short season. The problem is when a season becomes a lifestyle.
How long has your season been?
Pick it back up again. We’re in this together!
The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. –Proverbs 24:16
