We're now in the
time of those "New Year resolutions." Of course, we all know that such
resolutions are notorious, mostly because we don't keep them much past
February! Let me tell you about one of mine, and it's one that I really must
keep—the stakes are too high.
At my last physical (clergy are required to have one every year), my doctor
sat me down for some straight talk. Over the past two years, my blood
pressure has been rising. It's still "ok," but it is now in the higher side
of the safe zone. I'm a bit overweight, but I'm also way out of tone (the
big problem here is what I call my "bubba belly"). Total cholesterol is
elevated. Also, I've been having strange feelings in my chest. It turns out
that my heart/heartbeat is fine, but it is obvious that I'm stressed-out.
Dr. Jones said that even though I'm not in any kind of real trouble,
negative trends are building and at 45 my body won't be taking care of
itself like it used to. We talked about my work schedule and daily regimen.
I'm doing fairly well with diet, but I don't exercise at all. My excuse is
that there is no time for it. I regularly work about 55 hours per week, and
there are lots of night meetings, etc after a full day. I'm too tired to
exercise when I get home. "Well, what about mornings before you go to the
office?" "No, that's the only time I have for my prayer discipline and
sermon preparations." And so on.
It's true that I'm in much better shape than I have a right to be. My very
athletic younger years have paid off. But I can't coast any more. Dr. Jones
made a very strong impression when he said that his biggest concern for me
is that, one day, I will be walking along just fine, and then be dead before
I hit the sidewalk: "That's happening more and more with people like you,"
he said. "You've got to find a way to unplug from the stress for a while
each day, and you've got to schedule some regular exercise." Later, I had
one of those rocket-scientist realizations: I won't be much of a rector for
All Saints' if I'm sick or if I'm answering St. Peter's questions at the
Pearly Gates.
So I started to check things out. The clergy-wellness people and the time
management experts say that people in leadership roles should schedule no
more than 40 of the workweek (appointments, etc.). This is in order to allow
for administrative time, tending to the "unexpected," and to allow for open
time for general availability and a healthy pace to the day. "Uh, Houston,
we've got a problem"— I'm easily at 75 of my time being scheduled. The
nature of my ministry here is such that there is a heavy demand for time,
and I don't know how I could undo this situation. But I can do one thing—I
am going to start scheduling-out time on my weekly calendar for exercise.
After conferring with the staff, I have decided to leave the office every
Monday and Wednesday at 4:00 and go home to exercise. (We've just bought a
treadmill!) I'll return to work for the
evenings as needed. Since my day off is Friday I can keep the
every-other-day routine, and then again on Sunday afternoons. This way, I
can minimize the impact on the office and my availability to you. .This is a
good start, but it's only a start. I still have to try to find ways to cut
back on scheduling.
I'm also committed to getting more and better rest. When I took a few
vacation days after Christmas, I couldn't believe what a difference it made
in the way I felt to have had adequate rest. For the first time in several
months, I had energy and I actually recovered that long-missing "good mood!"
Ellen said, "Who are you and what did you do with Shannon?" It is simply
unacceptable for me to slip back into that burned-out pattern. Life's just
too short for that.
The church has been dealing with stewardship a lot over the past four
months, what with the pledge drive, the parish budget, and preparations for
our big capital campaign. You know that "stewardship" isn't just about
money. It's about how we take care of what has been given to us, and how we
respond to those gifts. Christians are called to be faithful stewards in all
things. Taking care of one's body and health is certainly a matter of
stewardship and—as with financial pledging—clergy should step up and be good
models ("wholesome example" is the way our ordination service puts it) in
the stewardship of the wondrous gift of physical life.
Shannon +
