I have a confession to make about a birthday party I threw for my oldest son 5 years ago. It was his first birthday, I was a new mom, and serving in ministry full time.
For his birthday party, we chose an airplane theme, and you can bet I turned my house into a vintage airport. Pinterest exploded on this party- complete with clouds on the ceiling made from cotton batting. You guys. I turned my house into a VBS stage.
Here’s my confession: after the party was over… after all the effort, all the preparations, and staying up until 3:00 am just to make it all “perfect”… It still felt like not enough AND I realized I was depleted afterward. Instead of TRULY celebrating, I got caught up in trying to prove that I could do all the things a mom was “supposed to do”… whatever that meant. 🙂
Truthfully, no one put all that on me. I did it to myself. And the reason why might not be very different from what you’re experiencing right now in your role…
- Lack of volunteers or support
- Lack of resources
- Lack of time
- Transitions and changes in your church or home
- Feeling isolated in your role
- Coming home exhausted
The list could go on… but it all comes down to this idea that somewhere, there is “not enough.” We feel it either in ourselves or around us or both- that we have a ‘problem of lack.’
But friends, it’s a lie. We have to pull up to see the big picture… the truth. And that’s one of the reasons why we will never stop gathering this community of leaders together in the same place at CPC.
At CPC, we are able to pull our perspective up and speak to the lies about what is true…
- In General Sessions, we remember the truth that we are appointed to serve the King
- In Worship, we revel in the fact that we are His children, and that He will not fail His own
- In Breakouts, we discover that He desires to see us grow and deepen in our perspectives
- In Coaching, we are encouraged that He has a plan and He is working it out in our lives
- In the Resource Center, we realize there is an entire community that desires to help us champion this mission to make disciples
- In the fun times, we realize that there is so much life and joy offered to us for this journey
- In each other, we see that we are part of a global and eternal story of victory He is telling and that we have a critical role in this Kingdom
Our common problem is almost always this lie of ‘not enough,’ but our common solution is to gather the Truth. I was convinced I had to do it all, but it just took a few truthful conversations with friends a little further down the road than me to realize what was happening (and to come up with solutions for how I could not end up in the same place again next time.)
I invite you to join us at Children’s Pastors Conference, where your focus and your spirit will be encouraged. We’ll have truthful conversations, you’ll learn a lot from leaders who are selflessly sharing their experiences with you, and you’ll go home transformed in your perspectives.
May you drown out the lies with Truth today, friends. Our Lord is enough!
