I actually had the temerity to volunteer to lead a simulation workshop on work life balance in an international ministry context. What was I thinking?
Between the licensure test (no, I still don't know if I passed or not), my sister and her family arriving in Taiwan, my involvement "one day a week" in our ministry organization's financial accounting this fall (covering for someone on a home assignment,) and the course I'm helping facilitate on counseling international ministry couples quickly approaching, I have become my own case study. (I've left some things out here, though I'd like to include them just to let you know how impressive my problem really is ;-)
I was reflecting on this in a small group (that has actually been meeting since 2000--longer than I've ever lived anywhere else, much less been in a small group!) My dear neighbor had the gall to observe that I have struggled with overcommitment in the past. Actually he did not quite finish the thought before I interrupted him, reminding him that after all these years I also knew his besetting challenges. In fact, we quickly proceeded to run through our little group (men for mediocrity, we once called it*) showing we knew each one's besetting challenges. There are some benefits to longevity, after all.
Now over the years we have celebrated some victories in our small group. Lots of victories, actually. But the scenery in some ways doesn't change very much! I still like being busy much more than I like being bored. Change stimulates me and I like stimulation--until I crash and burn again. The signs of mania are at the door.
Now at this point, if you've read this far, you may be thinking one of two things: (a) Steve is so much like me, or (b) We're so different. Honorable mention goes to a third option: (c) Steve still doesn't have a clue!
My friend, let's call him "Bob," did say one nice thing. He said, "Still, you do get stuff done." At least, I think that was nice. So what am I losing? Availability. The more commitments on my mind, the less present I am in each conversation. The more likely I am to forget an appointment. The more likely I am to catch a cold virus. The less able I am to keep up with Laura on a bicycle. The more games I play of spider solitaire, the latest in a long line of mental distractions over the years.
So where's the balance? "Forgetting what lies behind, I press on toward the goal." Maybe the goal isn't an achievement, but a relationship. Maybe all those things I mentioned in the second paragraph are just part of the scenery. Maybe today I have one more day to enjoy with the companions the father has given me for my journey, whether they're my favorites or not. (They're some of the very best, in my opinion!) Maybe it is still today, and today I can do some things that are good, with joy in my heart, not out of obligation, but out of the overflow of a sincere and grateful heart. Maybe it is still today!
Tomorrow will come tomorrow. Then, if the father allows and I do not die, I'll get on an airplane, travel to San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, and Indiana, each in their appointed time, be present with the people that I find there in the best balance I know how to strike, while remembering those I've left behind on this side of the world. If all goes according to plan, I'll be back before Thanksgiving, ready to participate in the retreat Laura is planning for TEAM Taiwan even now. Let's keep remembering each other in our journeys--and in our work life balance!
With love from the far side, Steve and Laura
Dr. Steve and Laura Spinella, Sarah, Joey, Robby
Da Yi Street, Lane 29, #18, 2F-1, Taichung 40454, TAIWAN
011.886.4.2236.6145, of 4.2236.1901, fx 4.2236.2109, cell 9.2894.0514
USA: 9685 Otero Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, 719.528.1702, cell 719.360.6485
TEAM, PO Box 969, Wheaton, IL 60189, 800.343.3144 <www.teamworld.org>, <www.team.org.tw/spinella>, <www.team.org.tw/ccg>, <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TEAMspinella/>,
<spinella@alumni.rice.edu>, <lauraspinella@alumni.rice.edu>
I have not already been perfected – but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let those of us who are "perfect" embrace this point of view. If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways. Nevertheless, let us live up to the standard that we have already attained. (from the NET Bible at bible.org)
