Stewardship of Time? Or a Call to Joy?

Stewardship:

the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.

My life gets busy. Sometimes too busy. And every once in a while, I start to vent, and explain to friends all the things that vie for my time, each project seeming so important, and they will gently try to help me figure out which ones to start deleting from my life. Since CANFP is a volunteer organization, sometimes it’s suggested I cut back here. But during those unique, scattered moments of silence (like when traveling across the state to give a CANFP presentation), I realize this is how God has called me to serve, that this is part of the way I show stewardship of time toward building up the culture of life. At the end of life, I hope to look back and see I didn’t get so busy with day to day work that I lost sight of what God really called me to do. In the thick of things, I sometimes feel like I’m drowning in work, and then a CANFP event will come up, and when it’s done – I have so much joy, and energy, that I feel like I’m ready to dive into five more projects. If I hadn’t said yes the first time when called by Sheila to serve on the Board, I would never have known this incredible adventure. Seems God often waits for our ‘Yes’ and our first step in committing time, before showing us all the joys that will come with it.

I have been extremely honored to serve on this board, have made life long friends, and am humbled to gather around the table with amazing people to create ways we can bring this good news of NFP to women and men throughout the state. What may have started as a call to honor God with a stewardship of time, turns out more to be a call to step away from the hustle/bustle of life, into a realm of joy where we can reflect and share on some of the greatest goods: love and life. In this newsletter, we honor Winnie Neill, who has shared her time over many years with steady commitment and participation on the CANFP Executive Board. Her cheerful, optimistic attitude and ready smile will be greatly missed at convenings of the board, though we know CANFP will continue to benefit from her participation as an active member.

So I challenge all of you – what way do you show the careful and responsible management of the time entrusted to your care? How will you help spread the culture of life? Don’t wait til ‘free time’ comes – make the choice today. I invite you to share some of the great joys I’ve received from working with CANFP. Give Sheila a call – she’ll find a way for you to help.