“Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the needy and the poor.” –Proverbs 31:8-9
“Go forth joyfully; God who has called you will take good care of you.”
“Command them to do good, be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” –1 Timothy 6:18
As my prior posts have probably indicated, I have felt a little lost lately. For the first time in my life, I don’t know what the next step looks like. And that is terrifying for a control freak like me. For the past couple of months, I have been working on trusting God and surrendering control. While it has been a frustrating exercise and one that, I am sure, is far from complete, the process has been helpful. I am gaining experience, perspective, and perseverance, which in turn, develops trust and discipline.
This morning, I hopped on the treadmill, and instead of listening to music or NPR, I prayed. And I prayed, “God, show me what is important today.”
I found myself thinking about my mission statement. You see, I try to run my life intentionally. For the last year or so, I have been toying with running my life like a corporation. I have a personal advisory board, who serve as my own personal board of directors. They are dear and wise friends whose insight and wisdom I value more than they will ever know. We meet quarterly and engage in exercises that help me define what I want my life to look like and where I want to go.
We meet again in May, and before that meeting, I am tasked with drafting my life’s mission statement. What is a mission statement? According to Wikipedia, it is a formal short written statement about the purpose of an organization. Mission statements guide the actions of an organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a sense of direction, and guide decision making. It provides the framework or context within which the company’s strategies are formulated. I am working on drafting the mission statement for my life.
The purpose of my life’s mission statement is the same as the purpose of an organization’s mission statement. It defines my most important values, where I want to be, and how I want to get there. It provides a point of reference when I reach a crossroads. When I have to make a decision, I can ask myself, “Is this course of action consistent with my mission?” When I am assessing my life and what needs to go and what needs to stay, I can ask, “Does this further my mission?” Importantly, your mission statement should cross over into every area of your life, be it your relationships, your career, your money, your spiritual life, etc.
This morning on the treadmill, I wrote my mission statement. I have been thinking about it and processing it for years.
My mission is to impact the lives of individuals around me by serving them with a humble and joyful heart.
Although that sounds simplistic, I put a lot of thought into the right words and phrases.
I added “around me,” recognizing my tendency to want to serve others by sending money to nameless and faceless individuals and organizations far away. I focus on groups of people, rather than individuals. As C.S. Lewis once wrote, it is far easier to love strangers than those specific individuals around you. I would like to focus on the individuals around me, whether it be my husband, my family, my friends, my church, my colleagues, or others.
“Serving” is intentionally vague. I can serve others throughout countless activities in my day. I can serve others at work, at church, at meetings, or even when I am all alone.
Humility. I added that to fight my tendency towards pride in my service work. It is important that I address the motivations because service for the wrong reasons is not what I am going for.
Joy. I want my service to be joyful. This is not something I am doing because I have to. I am doing it because I want to.
I feel better already. Having defined my mission, now I just have to find the strength and courage to live it.
Dear God, thank you for helping me identify and define my mission. Help me as I strive to live it.
March 25, 2010 at 12:48 pm
I love it. Prayer is such a fruitful experience (even when it’s done on a treadmill).
I’ve learned through l’Arche that joy is not always present with service. And, struggling to find a constant joy that some of us think that we’re entitled to can be a disservice to ourselves and the work we’re doing. I think I gain more love, spiritual wealth, and growth when I say “I’m not enjoying this”. It’s not a bad thing. It’s an honest thing. I continue to serve too. Sometimes the joy is in humbly doing good work while there are other things we’d rather be doing. Rewards are better when they come as a surprise. Could you use more surprises?
Love you very much.
March 25, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Love you, too, bro. And when I say joy, I don’t mean so much joy in a sense of happiness, but rather joy in the sense of having a satisfaction and contentment with the path I have chosen.
‘Happiness describes a temporary emotion based on circumstances. Joy is something within yourself that remains regardless of your circumstances.’
I’m proud of you!