In college, I took a Meat Science class. (Don’t freak out… I was an animal science major at Kansas State…)
I learned a lot of interesting things in that class, most of which I have (unfortunately) not retained long term. HOWEVER, there is one statement from our rather feisty-old-man-professor Dr. Hunt that I will never forget.
We were talking about the different “doneness” of meat, specifically steak. He told us this, which has since stuck in my brain for nearly a decade:
“If I ever catch you eating a steak cooked well-done, you will flunk this class.”
We laughed, mainly because the possibility of Dr. Hunt showing up at Little Apple Brewery and insisting to see the center of our steak was ridiculous. (And I don’t think “eating a well-done steak” would hold up in the world of academia for a reason to fail a college class.)
But I haven’t forgotten that lesson and was recently thinking about it again in my ministry journey.
You might have noticed that I haven’t blogged here at 7 Days Time for nearly two months now. It wasn’t necessarily intentional, but my professional life just kept getting busier and busier. After almost 5 full years of blogging and online/in-real-life ministry, I had not taken any kind of “break” for more than 10 days at a time… Even when we moved across the country with the military or right after I gave birth to my daughter.
Whaaaa!?!?!! Yeah. I know.
But I love writing. And I love encouraging others. And I love Jesus. So I really saw no reason to press pause.
Until my writing experience started to taste like that steak that has been left on the grill for a bit too long. Yes, things started to taste like charcoal. I felt the first signs of ministry burn out. Apparently, there’s a few differences (and some similarities) between grilling steak and working for Jesus.
Goal: Don’t get burnt out. Turn down the heat when things start to taste like charcoal.
So God asked me to chill out for a season.
Honestly, it was REALLY HARD to let go of my OCD blogging schedule that I had religiously maintained for 5 years. But the joy was starting to wane. It was becoming something I just had to do instead of felt led to do.
Kind of like when all of the deliciousness is cooked out of a steak. It wasn’t juicy, tender and a treasured experience. Blogging consistently was “just another thing” on my to do list that was continuing to build up and add pressure to my everyday life.
So I stepped back for a couple of months. And guess what? The sun has continued to rise. My website has not imploded. My spiritual blood pressure decreased. And my “steak” is tasting good once again!
Dear friends and readers– I feel no indication in my heart whatsoever of God staying for me to shut the doors on 7 Days Time. But I DO feel Him calling me to live more by the no-plan-plan, aka GOD’S Surprise plan for me.
We are entering into another new season of life. There are a lot of changes coming down the pipe. We are preparing for yet another cross country move with the military in just a couple of months. I have recently retired from PWOC President. We are no longer leading our church homegroup as that chapter has closed with almost every couple also moving away on military orders. My Beloved Husband is getting ready to become a Ranger Instructor for Ranger School in Georgia. We are so very hopeful that our new home in Georgia will be a transitional season for us that we might be able to rest from being shepherds and embrace the role of sheep for a bit.
I can’t tell you what my blogging schedule will look like from here on out. I am writing quite a bit for Army Wife Network as Editor-in-Chief and Deputy Commander and we are facing all of the changes listed above. So, for the first time in my ministry journey, I really don’t have a plan or a strategy. #QuickSomebodyTakeAPicture!
I am going to wing it. And take this ministry a bit more day-by-day… I want to keep a medium-God pace, one that is delicious and enjoyable like the perfect steak… I don’t want things to taste like charcoal and get burnt out. My goal is not to be well done NOW, but that some day, when my mission here is complete, God will hopefully whisper to me as I cross heaven’s threshold: “Well Done.”
On His Agenda,
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” ~Proverbs 16:3
