The beginning of the year can be and most of the time is overbearing. All these young people coming in. All these catechists that need support. All this curriculum to set into motion. You look back at all the things you tried to do last year, all the things you could have done but didn’t have the time and all the things that you could do this year.
*SIGH*
It’s overwhelming, isn’t it?!?
Let’s all take a deep breath, though, to start this year and remember these three things to keep your stress level down while keeping your head on straight:
IT’S ALL GOOD
This is my Christian formation director’s favorite phrase coming from 30+ years of ministry. You have books. You have blogs. You have old magazine pages. You have napkin notes scratched out when an idea came to you in the middle of dinner. The message doesn’t change. All these resources are good, so don’t sit there paralyzed by the crush of ideas. Pick something out, and let God work through it. It’s all good.
ADD ONE THING NEW
Put your touch on your program. Find a lesson plan that could use a new video, maybe even a short TED talk to go with it. You need to express your creativity and feel productive. Sometimes this inspires you to move onto another lesson plan or maybe even a big youth ministry idea. But this post is meant to be a de-stresser, so just relax, start small today and add one new thing.
DON’T YOU FORGET ABOUT YOU
You may be feeling so busy, stressed and a mess, but you need to take some time away, DURING THE WORKDAY, to be with God and let Him help you. Go into the church sanctuary, the Blessed Sacrament chapel or even your favorite classroom. You work at a church! You know, the place where you tell everyone else to come and be with God. Take advantage of your surroundings and all the prayer resources you receive. God hasn’t forgotten about you, so don’t you forget about you.
My hope and prayer for you is that you have a great year. There’s a lot of great things that God is doing through you and through our Church. Approach your year with that confidence, hope and mission in mind.
