Dr. Meredith Griffin | The Flourishing Life™
Deeper Roots. Remarkable Results.
I am often astonished at the level of detail of my wife’s memory. She can recall the colors, sounds, and words of events that occurred decades ago. There are many things that I can recall with the same level of detail, but compared to my wife I have no memory at all. There have been, over the years of our marriage, many events worth remembering. There are some we would just as soon forget. [Read more…] about Things I’ve Learned in Twenty-Five Years of Marriage – Part 9
I know what it is like to be pulled in many directions. I don’t like it. It doesn’t feel good. It makes me feel split, and pushes me to cry out for solace! The public me versus the private me. The professional me versus the recreational me. My emotional self versus my intellectual self. The combinations seem endless. What I want, what I believe we all want, is the peace that comes from having harmony among the different parts of our lives. Harmony. That’s the word that continues to call to me. I want harmony. Don’t we all?
Instead of harmony, most of us settle for organized chaos and call it harmony. After all, for many of us, it appears to be the best we can expect. Balancing health with our appetites. Balancing consumption with our desire for security financially. Being charitable, generous, and frugal, all at the same time. Being parent and spouse, and doing both well. Living as a faithful employee and a burgeoning entrepreneur. We manage. Sometimes we absolutely fall short of the goal. We work it out. But in the back of our minds, we’re always longing for better. We believe that somehow there is supposed to be more harmony in our lives. Well, there is supposed to be more. Harmony is possible. But we’ve got to be willing to do the work to achieve harmony, and sometimes the work towards harmony is difficult.
One of the definitions of harmony, according to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary is, “an interweaving of different accounts into a single narrative.” How appropriate is that definition for where we desire our lives to be. I, we, want all the different parts (accounts) of my life to come together into a single narrative. I want to live one life, instead of all these separate lives that seem to have their own direction. Some would say that the varied, staccato parts of our lives do create a single narrative. After all, this logic would state, it is “our” life. True. Another definition of harmony, however, gives us a deeper understanding of what it means to live one life of harmony. A second definition of harmony is a “pleasing or congruent arrangement of parts.” So although my/your wild, harried, crazy life can be considered a single narrative, can it be considered (by you or others) either pleasing or congruent? If not, and if you desire to live one life, then it is time to commit to doing the work.
So to live one life, defined as “interweaving the various parts of life into a harmonious single narrative”, is going to take work. Harmony doesn’t just happen. Balance isn’t an accident. To live one life, we’ve got to decide to live for something other than the moment, while recognizing the importance of the moment in which we’re living. Living one life is greater than being a parent, employee, Christian, philanthropist, writer, spouse, or citizen, just like a puzzle is more than the individual parts in the box. Living one life is the sum of all those things when they come together in harmony. It will take work to see the picture. It is a composition that will take time to design. We must step back from the minutiae of all the different roles we play in life, in order to see the picture that all the roles create when they’re put in their proper place. Living one life is bigger than a mission statement, a vision board, or a slogan. It is the intentional, constant organizing and adjusting of our inner and outer, public and private, professional and personal selves. If we are willing to do the work, we can have the harmony that we desire in our lives.
What does ministry mean to me? Recently, I was asked to give my testimony regarding the answer to that question at a gathering of my ministry colleagues. The catch? I only had 5 minutes to share. A preacher, a microphone, a captive audience, and just 5 minutes; this was truly the definition of “preacher torture.” What could I say about a, to this point, 22 year journey with God in ministry that would edify and encourage my colleagues while conveying ministry has come to mean to me? I was able to whittle it down to four words….surrender, sacrifice, service, and satisfaction. [Read more…] about Hey Pastor! What Does Christian Ministry Mean To You?
A couple begins attending the church you lead. They sit in the back, watching and listening attentively. They return more often over the next several months, but seem reluctant to engage any deeper. Finally, you are able to make a connection and find out that they have just begun attending church again. They share that they left the last church they attended after being wounded. They share all that they did at their former church, and how painful the circumstances were that led to them leaving the church. What are you to do? How should the church handle this family? [Read more…] about 5 Things Your Church Should Be For Those Overcoming Church Hurt
While it is popularly believed that pastors are people persons, that isn’t always the truth. It is possible to make pastoral ministry, outside of Sunday morning, a solitary endeavor. It is possible for a pastor to become solitary by filling a week’s calendar with solitary events like study, reading, writing, and retreat. The truth is that the solitary pastor, and the church they lead, probably isn’t as effective as they could be at fulfilling the stated mission of the church. [Read more…] about 3 Vital Benefits Pastors Miss When They Are Isolated