2 minute read
Advice for staying charged up
Meet the team keeping Birmingham looking good!
Advertisement
1830 29th Ave S, Ste 140 | SoHo in Homewood (205) 582-2999 | singlebarrelbarbershop.com
Seeing the United States flag at half-staff has always provoked a strong emotional
response in me. If I did not know immediately why the flag was not at full staff, I would ask or research online until I found out why.
During the past several years, it seems to be commonplace that there has been some tragedy, and I will confess that I have sometimes just gone on with my day and not worried about what happened. It seems like our flag is depleted. There is an exercise in our fatherhood curriculum where we get men to talk about their feelings. It is not nearly as awkward of an exercise as it may sound. We ask the men: What is one emotion you struggle with and what happens when you have this feeling? The feeling I often struggle with is being depleted, and when I feel depleted, I let things slip that I would not have if I was charged up.
How do bad things happen in life? The philosopher Edmund Burke says, “Evil prevails when good men do nothing.” When I am depleted, doing nothing often happens. In the Bible, James 4:17 says, “if anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”
Our relationships, parenting, careers, and even our faith suffers when we get depleted. We must understand what it takes to stay energized and on mission. We all have a mission and a calling from God, and learning what that is will lend a sense of fulfillment and purpose. It is much easier to stay on track when we know where we are going
We must formulate plans to stay charged up. We need to develop room for margin by taking care of ourselves and providing healthy environments for our families. We should be strategic about what things are important and of what things we can let go. Our relationships should be life-giving, challenging, safe, positive, and mutually beneficial. We must set aside time for those we care about. We must tend to our faith and create spiritual disciplines that bring life. We must protect our bodies and minds from harm and provide healthy nourishments to both. The great news is that we can flourish as a country, in our relationships, our churches, and our communities.
