I’m not much of a runner (although I have deep respect for my runner friends), but I’m in a season of my spiritual walk where the idea of running a race continues to weigh on my heart. It’s this year’s theme for the women’s ministry at my church, so I’m focused on it at least once a week, but it seems to cross my mind frequently for personal application. As I sat down to write this blog, the theme came up again as I typed in the title “Off Course.”
When I began this ministry, I had dreams and high hopes of what it would look like. I had three months worth of blog ideas, a daily schedule of social media posts, and was watching as many webinars as I could find on building an audience. And then life happened. You know, that thing that happens daily but you think it will magically cooperate with your new venture simply because you want it to? I became distracted with the kids’ schedules, I took on a new job at my church, began illustrating a book, and took on a large design project. I took a couple of steps towards this and a couple towards that, and it wasn’t long before I was off course. But those demands were so great, I didn’t even have the energy or focus to get back on course. I had so many new things at once that I didn’t know how to juggle it all so I would tackle one project at a time, with this ministry being pushed further and further to the side. I’m taking the steps necessary to get back on course, but these are the lessons I learned while drifting off course.
1) Make priorities stay a priority.
When ranking priorities, God should be first, family should be second. What comes next can vary from one person to another, but it should have something to do with God’s will for your life in this season. Because I’m a multi-tasker, I often have several jobs or projects going on at any given time. God has called me to be a Christian counselor, but it’s part-time. He’s called me to handle some of the media and communications at my church, but again, that’s part-time. He’s also called me to do design work for various ministries in my church. But what about this ministry that He called me to? If I don’t continue to make it a priority, it will quickly get pushed aside.
2) Budget your time.
The best way to make something stay a priority is to budget your time. My husband watches A LOT of Dave Ramsey, so we practice budgeting our finances, but we don’t always do a good job budgeting our time. Just like Dave says if you don’t tell your money what to do it will tell you what to do, the same is true with our time. If you don’t make a daily schedule, you are less likely to accomplish all that you want to do. You will easily blow your time with a Netflix binge-watching session, social media scrolling, or whatever fills your time if you don’t plan ahead with a schedule.
3) PRAY!
I know what you’re thinking, I should have started with that. Yes, prayer should be our first line of offense and defense. The only reason it isn’t first on this list is that the first two steps deal with how to stay on course. I’m assuming if you know God’s plan for you, it is because you prayed and sought His guidance on which course to take. These next three steps focus on how to get back on track if you stray off course, and the first step is to pray. Ask God what His priority for you is right now, in this present season. Ask Him to give you creativity with your time. Ask Him to motivate you to do His work. Ask Him to send you someone to encourage you and instruct you in areas you are lacking. If this is His calling, He should be invited regularly to be a part of the calling.
4) Reach out to others when you feel scattered or defeated.
Sometimes we can motivate ourselves to keep pressing on, but sometimes we need encouragement from others. Sometimes our pride gets in the way of opening up to others, and sometimes we are unsure who to approach, but the truth is, none of us can do this life on our own. How do I know that? Because God didn’t stop with just Adam. He said it wasn’t good for man (and woman) to be alone. We were created for relationships. Sometimes your friend or mentor can see something that you can’t because you’re too close to it. If you are sensing that you are veering off course, reach out before you fall into a rut.
5) Extend grace to yourself.
Maybe I’m in the minority, but I have a difficult time extending grace to myself sometimes. I’m frustrated that it has been so long since I’ve posted on my social media page or written a blog. It has crossed my mind several times over the last few months, but I would push it aside because I was embarrassed that I let one more thing fall through the cracks. It was easier to ignore it then to deal with it. But the longer it took me to deal with it, the more frustrated and embarrassed I became. So I forgave myself for letting this priority fall away, and I sat down at the computer to start fresh. This will most likely not be my last post about getting sidetracked, but if life distracts me again, I will extend grace to myself again and will keep on writing.
The good news when we get off course is that there is ALWAYS a path back. God has called you to do His work for a reason. Don’t throw it away just because you set it aside for a while. Pick it back up and run the race God has set before you.
Keep running,
Julie
walkingfaithstudies.com 