Today I am sick. Yesterday I stayed home because Sandy was sick. I tried to get myself going so I could get to my office and be productive, but I failed and I am up in my bed doing what work I can while fending off the temptation to just roll over and sleep. Soon enough I will fail to resist.
When I am tired, hungry, or sick I get pretty moody. When I am moody for other reasons, I feel like doing little more than sleeping and stress-eating. The primary source for that sort of moodiness is discouragement. That monster is no stranger to me as I have been in full-time ministry for close to six years now.
I recently read a book that references some of the things that make work fulfilling: it has to be challenging and have a direct work-to-success correlation. Ministry-work has no shortage of challenging work, but the correlation between hard work and success can leave you wanting. Hours of study, writing, set up, and preparation fall by the side when 80% of the students don't show up one week. That is lost time, lost work, and inevitably it is the ones who miss the message who most needed to hear it!
Storing up the moments of encouragement you receive is paramount in retaining your sanity. I have to recall moments when a student "gets it" or when an adult realizes the work and thought I have put into girding everything we do with a singular purpose and process. I have to remember those moments when a student finally actually worships or when an adult recognizes the progress in the changes I have gradually been implementing. I have to keep in mind the support of my peers who are experiencing the same things in the same ways.
Working in ministry means that "success" can be difficult to measure. Working in youth ministry means that you can rarely claim success until you see the results of a faithful life years later.
Disappointment and discouragement are a regular part of the landscape. When so much of what happens is dependent on the commitment and character and consistency of others, it is going to be an ever present challenge.
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