Why Your Work Matters to God

It's easy to get into a rut at work.  Whether it's the commute, the long hours or the tedium of meetings, work can get you down.

At times, I ask myself, "does this matter at all to God or am I just spinning my wheels?"

This past week, a clue appeared.

I recently received a complimentary copy of the new resource from Liturgical Press called "Give Us This Day".  A new devotional in the style of the wildly popular Magnificat, Give Us This Day features readings from the Roman Catholic Mass as well as some inspiring daily reflections.

Yesterday's reflection was from the famous Jesuit Fr. Karl Rahner, SJ.  It sums up the conundrum of work quite well- if you wonder if your work matters, reflect on this:

"Our daily round of work is full of holy significance, a preparation for greatness.  And it is in the midst of this daily round that what is holy happens."

 

The Hardest Thing to Stop

Most of us don't have destructive behaviors.  We have more sneaky habits that we simply don't know how to break.  Carol Kinsey Goman from Forbes has a nice post on what may be the most sinister of all American skillsets.

Multitasking.

As we are reminded again and again, multitasking simply doesn't work.  The human brain just can't focus on two things at once.  I'm wondering about the moments in the next week where you (me too!) could avoid doing two things at the  same time.  I'm guilty of driving and listening to podcasts at the same time. No harm, no foul there.  Still, I'm going to try and do one or the other.  I imagine seeing some homes on the side of the road that I never saw before.  Or, I might be more aware of another driver whose facial expression is sad or lonesome.

During these moments, when you can slow down and focus only on one thing at a time, Sabbath can increase.

Where Sabbath expands, God finds room to whisper to the farther corners of our lives.

What Can You Notice Today?

As I write this post, I'm sitting in my favorite Panera Bread and yes, working through some office hours.  (just not at the office)

The man across from me has eaten two pieces of buttered bread and typing on an IBM Thinkpad.  The table next to me has three middle aged folks talking about their prayer life.  The manager, a burly man, is barking out commands to his staff like he usually does.

I'm noticing things today.  Colors, smells, sounds, and most importantly people.

Terry Hershey, one of my favorite authors writes, "Rediscovering wonder (or duckling moments) takes root in the soil of the simple sentence, "I never noticed that before."

What can you notice today?  Who around you needs a kind word or a helping hand?  Which moment will you embrace with acute spirituality?

You Know Your Prayer Life is in Trouble When...

If the average preacher asked his congregation for a showing of hands as to which congregants prayed in the days leading up to church, the results might under-impress.  Most folks I know feel so overwhelmed with work and family commitments that they simply forget to pray during the day.

Or maybe they don't know how.

I don't mean that people don't know how to utter an honest one-liner to God.  Most do but only when times get tough or life throws them a curve ball.  I get it, I really do.  Life can be hard and the stress is real.

Maybe folks have never been trained in the art and poetry of prayer.  My own prayer life really didn't click until I was in my twenties.  Now that I'm in my thirties, I feel like I'm only scratching the surface.  I can only imagine what God will teach me when I'm older and my body is slowing down.

For the frantic pace of life that most are accustomed to, an hour of prayer a day seems impossible.  It probably is. So how can you make sense of it all?  How do you carve out some time for prayer in the midst of busy-ness? If the saints are any indication, the secret lies in one's intention and purity of heart.

St. Edmund once said, "It is better to say one Our Father fervently and devoutly than a thousand with no devotion and full of distraction."

For those who have not been trained in prayer nor have an intent to make their prayer life stronger, a subtle flag may be going up.  Some of the signs of a frayed spiritual life include:

• You feel distant from the Bible and its passages


• Praying out loud seems foreign and you rarely do it


• You can't remember the last time you wrote in a prayer journal


• God feels very, very far away

So what do you do if you can relate to one or more of these signs?  First, acknowledge it and get away.  Find some quiet time by getting alone with your thoughts.  This is a primer of the spiritual pump as quiet space is essential to being more open to prayer.

As Mother Theresa said, "In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you."

Even the most strained spiritual life can be restored with God's miraculous power and grace.  No matter how long it's been since you felt good about your prayer life, it's never too late to begin again.

How can you get alone in the next day in order to be more open to God's voice?

Why Every Leader Needs Solitude

I don't know about you but my schedule has, of late, featured a lot of meetings.  Budget meetings.  Personnel meetings.  Strategy and planning.

Before you know it, you can be left scratching your head and wondering if you'll ever be able to get any real work done.  This sentiment is really a symptom of someone who craves more solitude.  They know that meetings are work but too many of them can leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.

Jason Fried of 37 Signals has written about the problem of too many meetings. (see "Why You Can't Work at Work") It's no wonder that people feel so negatively about work- they can't seem to get work done when they're at it.  All of the stopping and starting creates a pace that is unsustainable for focused work.

Solitude, now that's what most workplaces could use more of.  I was reminded of this tonight as I visited our parish chapel for First Friday devotions.  For Catholics, First Friday is a chance for 24 hours of prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament.  My time slot is 6-7pm and I get a call from someone in the church a few days before just to remind me.  It's become like an anchor for my month.

I see the same people each month for the hour that I'm there.  It's quiet.  I spend some time writing in my journal and do some spiritual reading.  The solitude is almost refreshing and is a stark contrast from the frenetic pace of meetings during the week.

Leaders need moments like these and I don't mean the ones only who have fancy titles.  Ask any mom and they'll tell you that a peaceful afternoon break is worth its weight in gold.  Solitude is so valuable that once you build it into your schedule, all of the meetings and interruptions will seem like speedbumps.

The meetings will never be completely eliminated but a lifestyle that includes solitude can transform even the most ordinary work schedule.

So, how much solitude are you getting each week?

How Are You Taking Care of Yourself?

They say that it's lonely at the top and there is a wisdom to that.  Leaders are the ones who have to look you in the eye when bad news is on the horizon.  They are also the ones who bear the burden each night as they go to sleep, worrying more than anyone else about the health of the organization.

That "organization" can be a business, a church or even a family.  Ask any parent (leader) and they can easily share a story of a time when they went to bed, worrying about their child.  When everyone else can turn work off, the leader endures a constant chatter in his head about how to fix and improve things.

Leaders also get credit for the big wins, but in my experience, this kind of back-patting is extremely rare.  The day to day grind can easily consume whatever internal passion that was once a driving motivator.

This is what I call The Pull.  The Pull is that feeling you get when everyone wants a piece of you.  It's that sense you have that others aren't fully pulling their weight and their constituents turn to you to help fill the void.  It affects you physically and emotionally.

The Pull can destroy a leader if you let it.  It can make you cynical, quick with your words and physically exhausted.  Worse yet, it only increases the "loneliness factor" of being a leader.

About a year ago, I was confronted by a colleague of mine who looked me in the eye and told me to slow down.  He said, "Mike, if you don't take care of yourself, you're going to burn out.  The rest of us would like to see you here for the long haul."  His words stung because I knew he was right.

In order to counter the sucking effect of The Pull, you must ensure that you're being fed.  Here are some good questions to ask yourself:

• Are you a member of a faith community that you enjoy and gives something back to you each week?


• Is your marriage in a healthy place?


• Do you regularly visit with friends simply to hang out, share a meal or do fun things?


• Are you taking time each day for prayer and devotions?


• Are you doing something, 2-3 times a week that is good for you physically?

It is possible to head The Pull off at the pass. Just remember that it will come back so you'll need to ask these same questions again in the future.  Great leaders take care of themselves because they know that God can get more out of them when they are in a healthy place.

One of the best ways that I know of to counter The Pull is to get away.  This may be a retreat or a conference as Michael Hyatt posts on his blog.  It may also be the practice of meditation as Bradley Moore posts on Shrinking the Camel.

One way that I get away is to work from an alternate location.  My friend Gene Monterastelli is a master of this.  He may work from home one day, from a Starbucks the next.  He keeps fresh by avoiding a stale work environment.

If you feel inadequate at times, remember the words of Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, "God doesn't call those who are already equipped.  He equips those who are called."

*photo by E. Carton