Our family loves to vacation in the mountains of western North Carolina near Lake Hiwassee. Lake Hiwassee is formed by the Hiwassee Dam—the tallest top flow dam in the eastern US. Nestled deep in the Nantahala National Forest, this lake is as serene and beautiful as it is deep (300 feet when full).
Along with creating a beautiful lake, the dam does two things. It protects those downstream from the reservoir of water and the river that feeds it. Hiwassee Dam also provides power for the region (enough to power almost 2,400 homes a day).
Now, when I look at Hiwassee Dam on vacation, I’m on a pontoon boat pulling a tube trying to forget my calendar. However, as I consider the importance of work/life stewardship and the role that my calendar plays in that balance, the Hiwassee Dam becomes a helpful picture of what work/life stewardship does. Good work/life stewardship protects and provides while creating something beautiful.
Good work/life stewardship protects and provides while creating something beautiful.
Work/Life Stewardship Protects
Life is an ever-filling reservoir of opportunity and need. Unless I have a good plan and good habits around my work/life stewardship, I will be overwhelmed, things that are important will be neglected, and my life will be a torrential flood of what others want me to do rather than a stewardship of what God wants me to do. Work/life stewardship protects me and those around me from a potential flood.
These are Five Critical Habits for Work/Life Stewardship
- Big Rocks—There are things I must do weekly. I know the amount of time I can budget toward them. The largest of these for me is sermon prep followed by leading our staff team. There are weekly meetings and other things that show up on my calendar at the same time every week. Protecting these scheduled times helps me focus on what is most important.
- Weekly Glance—Each week, I take time to look at the week ahead to see what is coming to make sure that I have space in my calendar to do what is important and necessary. Knowing what I need to accomplish and how much time I need to accomplish it helps me budget the rest of my time.
- Weekly Meeting with my Wife—Ok, it’s not every week, but we are well over 90%. We meet and catch up on whatever we need to talk about. We look at the calendar for the next week in detail (who is driving, who where, etc). Then, we look ahead at least through the end of the next month for big things that are coming (birthdays, events, etc). Once a month, we look at the next 90 days. Cheryl also has veto power over my commitments. If she thinks I’m doing too much or driving too hard, she says so and we work toward removing some commitments. This is her caring for me and our family. I’ve learned to listen. This is not the same as date night, but it is one of the most important meetings I have in the week.
- Monthly Gaze—I schedule at least a morning a month to get away from the office and look ahead at what is coming in my life and ministry. This time is critical for me to stay ahead and attentive to the things that are important. I get a cup of coffee, start with some time in God’s Word, journaling and prayer time. Then, I look at the calendar and see what’s coming. This protects me from getting behind.
- Yearly Getaway—At least once a year, I get some extended time away to pray, reflect, and dream about the future—usually the coming year. This is not a vacation. This is critical to my life and ministry. I spend unhurried time in the Word and prayer. I look at the calendar and consider how God might want me to invest the talents He has given for His glory.
Work/Life Stewardship Provides Power
Now, the analogy breaks down quickly, but like the dam focuses and funnels water past turbines that create power, my calendar focuses and funnels the limited time I have so that I can be most productive.
Work/Life stewardship provides power by reminding me of what is important (Big Rocks). I schedule these for the same time every week. I do everything I can to protect that time. Certainly there are weeks that pastoral emergencies take precedence, but those are the exception, not the rule.
Work/Life stewardship provides power by keeping the people closest to me informed. Cheryl and I learned how much we needed this weekly meeting early in ministry life. Conversations like, “You remember that thing tomorrow night.” “What thing?” happened far too often. I added items to the calendar. I expected Google Calendar to communicate with Cheryl rather than me having to do it. This was not wise, effective, or sustainable. We found that when we were on the same page about our calendar, we could pull the same direction after the same goal.
Work/Life Stewardship provides power by helping me stay ahead. Keeping work in front of me helps me do a better job at what the Lord is calling me to do. There have been many times when I had to throw something together at the last minute, and God has been kind, but that is not an example of the life of faithfulness to which we have been called. Knowing what is coming and what it takes to accomplish it helps me be more productive and faithful.
Lake Hiwassee holds enough water to cover 320 square miles in a foot of water. That doesn’t include the water coming into the reservoir from rain and the river. In other words, the Hiwassee Dam holds back a lot of water protecting what is downstream and providing power to many. In doing this, the dam ends up producing something beautiful.
There is never an end to the reservoir of opportunity and river of needs in our lives. Work/life stewardship seeks to make the best of all of that opportunity and need by protecting things that are important and creating power and focus so that my life can be productive.
If you need to talk about Work/Life Stewardship, let me know. I want to help.
