Burnout: Find People

Find People (Part 5 of 6)

This is the third of four burnout prevention tactics, Find People. I don’t just mean find any old people. Like a random stranger on the street or shopping center. I mean find friends or a community. Not just acquaintances or people you hang out with occasionally. I mean people who you can connect with on a deep, personal, honest, and who knows your secrets (and don't run away) level of friendship/community. To put it another way, find people who you love, who love you, and will tell you the truth.

I remember when this became very real for me. I have a group of guys I have been meeting with since college. Now that we are out of college a few years (we all graduated in 1994 and live all over the country) we still get together every couple of years. I remember one time that I was suddenly not able to make a trip because of illness in my family. Spur-of-the-moment they switched plans (without telling me) and showed up at my door. These are guys I can call anytime, and they are there for me, I am there for them, and they tell me the truth.

I remember another time when I was the Executive Director at Cup of Cool Water (a ministry that walks alongside youth who are homeless in Spokane, WA) and I was feeling like a failure. I came down the stairs of my house crying, my wife hugged me, and I told her how I was feeling. Later that day was our small group gathering. It got to be the time when we pray for each other and my wife looked at me and said (much louder than she needed to), “do you want me to tell them or shall I.” So, I shared how I had been feeling and why. As they started to pray for me God showed up and began to point to people around the room and said, “that person loves you, that person loves you, that person loves you, and I am showing you that I love you through all of them.”

I have a Spiritual Director who I meet with on a monthly basis. On many occasions he has helped me see and experience the truth about how God looks at me. I know that he loves me and if I needed anything he would be right there.

Through these people and many experiences, I have learned that one of the components to burnout prevention is to surround oneself with people who you love, who love you, and who will tell you the truth. Find People.

Do you have a community of people around you like that?

If you are in need of or curious about Spiritual Direction check out my website; www.yourstoryandaflashlight.com or send me an email; mark@yourstoryandaflashlight.com I would love to talk to you about it.