The Dry Spell

 I think we've all, unfortunately, hit the proverbial wall at least once in our teaching careers. When we find ourselves feeling tired, dry, exasperated, and frankly questioning if this is all worth it or not. It is a time that more often than not is due to us simply not taking care of ourselves spiritually. 
 As children's ministers we can often overlook our own spiritual need for those of our students. Which is a never a good thing since it usually leaves us spiritually dehydrated. Contrary to the popular belief you should always think of yourself first...at least when it comes to spiritual needs anyway. lol 
 Think of it like this, what if you tried to feed all the hungry in the world by giving up all of your food. Well, if you look at it naturally it looks really great, you've helped tons of people, but eventually you start starving yourself. By doing so you can no longer help any of the hungry. You end up losing your health doing something that looked right. 
 Well, it's the same way spiritually. We can end up getting so caught up giving out our time and talents that we forget to give God any of our time. Slowly but surely we spiritually starve to death. Which in turn renders us useless to our class. It's like trying to feed the homeless while you starve to death. 
 So, is it possible to bounce back from something like that? Yes, of course! 
 It's so simple to do too. Get in God's Word first and foremost! My dream is to be like a spiritual sponge for my students...I want to soak up God's Word all week and then just ring it out all over them on Sundays. Curriculums are great, but if you're not teaching them the Bible then you're really not teaching them anything are you?
 Also, pray....pray...what was that other thing? Oh yeah...PRAY! 
Prayer is key. It's literally communicating with God. It's not some hokey religious tradition, it is a God given blessing so we can keep in constant communication with our Heavenly Father. You will get your most valuable teaching guidance that way, I think. I am a strong believer when it comes to the power of prayer. I think the majority of any problems you have can be answered through prayer. No I don't necessarily mean a great audible voice echoing from a golden beam shot down from Heaven as doves fly out...hey if God ministers to you that way then great. But He tends not to be so in your face when it comes to me. Often times He may not even say a word, but a few days later someone may pop up with just the answer I was looking for, or when confronted with the situation I may just know what I need to do or say. It's really that simple. 
  Lastly, if you are really concerned with this dry spell you're dealing with consult your pastor. Don't do it to complain, but do it to explain your situation and seek some guidance. Sometimes God will use other people to communicate what He wants us to know. Because sometimes we just DON'T SHUT UP long enough for Him to get a word in edge wise...not that I've ever done that...ha yeah...not me...ok maybe once...or twice...ok three times tops.
 So, to finish off my main advice is, never neglect your relationship with God. It's great to want to do tons of stuff for God, but never to the point that you lose your relationship with God because of it. I think this advice applies to anyone in ministry no matter what your station. Our relationship with God has to be strong so that we can help strengthen others. 

God Bless,
Faith