Recently I was asked to list what I think are the top ten things related to ministry. My first response put preaching and teaching at the top.
I read over my written list a couple times and decided I started at the wrong place.
Hitting the delete button on my keyboard, I changed preaching to spiritual self-care and my number two to connection/fellowship with others. If I don’t take care of myself, making my spiritual growth a priority—then I will have nothing to give anyone else.
Then I saw this meme:
Flourish.
This of course reminded me of my series on the Beatitudes, and how Jesus’ understanding and invitation to “blessed” was the idea of flourishing.
If I am going to flourish and be effective in my life and calling, I have to tend my garden first. And while you may not be called to a specific capacity or “job” of ministry, nourishing will lead to flourishing in your spiritual walk and influence.
As you pause and reflect on where your journey may take you today and this week, ask for guidance on how you will prioritize and nourish your spiritual garden. Are there weeds you need to pull? Seeds you need to plant? Flowers you just need to take time to admire?
Make your spiritual garden a priority and see what grows.
For meditation:
1 God’s blessings follow you and await you at every turn:
when you don’t follow the advice of those who delight in wicked schemes,
When you avoid sin’s highway,
when judgment and sarcasm beckon you, but you refuse.
2 For you, the Eternal’s Word is your happiness.
It is your focus—from dusk to dawn.
3 You are like a tree,
planted by flowing, cool streams of water that never run dry.
Your fruit ripens in its time;
your leaves never fade or curl in the summer sun.
No matter what you do, you prosper. (Psalm 1, The Voice Bible)
Pot of Manna 
Great point. When i began my three year education to become a spiritual director, I “assumed” I would learn the logistics and mechanics of that role. No quite the opposite. I was “formed” as a spiritual director by deepening my own spirituality in order to care for others. Not the doing but the being, right?
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Sounds like my CPE training. One of the most valuable things I’ve ever given myself.
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