There are weeks like this in life (& leadership)

What a week? Last Saturday night, my dear wife Sarah was sitting reading on the couch as I finished watching the Flames defeat the Oilers 3-0. Just as we are ready to head to bed, my wife looks over and says, "I feel a little queasy." Seconds later, she drops the book and rushes to the bathroom and vomits. After cleaning up, we go upstairs and get ready for bed and are just about to settle in when... she vomits again. Fortunately, that was the last time, and despite not having a great night's sleep, the next morning comes around. Sarah realizes she should not serve in the nursery as was scheduled so she calls and swaps with someone else and stays home with Rachel while Caleb and I go to church. A fairly calm rest of the day, though we are disappointed we also had to cancel lunch plans with Sarah's family due to her sickness.

Sunday night, it is the children's turn to "up-chuck." I first hear Rachel cry out just before 3:00 am and bolt out of bed. In the 2-3 seconds between Sarah saying, "don't rush in, she might settle herself" and her next cry, I think but cannot find the words to say, "yes, you are right. I know she might settle herself. And yet I think that was something more than just a cry." The next sound is clearly not a cry but a throw-up noise and then Sarah bolts out of bed to go and help her. We get her, her bed, and dolly re-settled and before we know it, Caleb is awake. I help him settle and then he says "Daddy, my tummy aches." And that's the cue... he vomits too! Clean up the pjs and room, settle our boy back down and then up again ay 6:30 am for another round.

Monday actually goes okay and yet Monday night it is my turn to have poor night's sleep with back pain. I feel like I get no sleep at all and finally take some tylenol... something I probably should have done as I went to bed and felt sore. One of my perpetual problems... I don't take a pain medication until the pain is out of control as I hope its going to get better and I already feel like I take enough pills. Tuesday again goes okay, though Sarah and the children do not go to Mom's Time Out causing Rachel no small amount of frustration as she already missed playing with grandma at church on Sunday, now she doesn't get to spend time with her at MTO.

Tuesday ends with a Board of Elders meeting. Despite being very tired, I am feeling pretty good. Our Elders meeting goes well and we end with a discussion of an interpersonal conflict within the congregation... and it does not finish until after 12:30 am. Though I am home and in bed at 1:15, I'm sure I don't go to sleep until after 2:00 am and its a pretty restless night. By Wednesday, I don't know how I'm going to survive, but I do (by God's grace) and then another bad night with pain... and not taking tylenol quickly enough, and I just survive Thursday morning before taking a "sick day" (1/2) Thursday afternoon. Last night, everyone had a great sleep - myself, Sarah, Caleb and Rachel. It was incredible! I took a tylenol and a gravol before going to bed to help relieve the pain and make sure I slept well.

The purpose of sharing these "such is life" details on my blog is not sympathy (or to bore you with details). I think there's some leadership lessons I need to learn from this situation:
1) Manage trouble spots before they become major issues.
2) Don't put yourself into situations where if one thing happens suddenly, everything else shatters.
3) Life will happen and God will provide enough strength for each day. I confess, I was beginning to wonder about this on Wednesday... how was I going to make it through the rest of the week. The Lord always provides the resources we need to carry out His good will. I need to be sure to thank Him!

"Enough"

Turn back the clock with me seven years ago. Having just completed my doctoral studies, sensing that it was time to make a move career-wise, and yet reasonably satisfied to continue living in my hometown near my loving and supportive family, I frequently listen to the Chris Tomlin song "Enough." Whether at church, on the radio, or on my playlist as I worked on my journal or class preparation, I would stop and try to sing along, only to realize that I couldn't genuinely repeat the words. I believed them to be true and desparately wanted to claim that truth personally, but often I felt as if I was trying to convince myself of the truth of the lyrics, not proclaim them. Over a period of months, I believe God worked to bring me to a point where I believe I could sing the words truthfully, before the circumstances of life changed to a point where I could see His provision so amazingly beyond my wildest dreams and expectations.

Now, back to December 2011. As the worship team at the Prairie Tabernacle congregation led this song on Sunday morning, I needed to stop singing and ask the Lord, do I really mean the words coming out of my mouth? What does that truth claim mean for me today with a wife, two children and another one due in January, a home, two part-time jobs, and a general sense of physical (and mental) fatigue in my body?

I have not yet come to an "answer," yet I will sing the words, affirming the truth the song conveys about God, His character, and His provision.