FIT@50 \ week 18
Broken: Don’t Do It
“They broke me.”
Those words were hard to hear.
“I know. It’s what they do,” was all I could say.
The somber, wooden expression in my friend’s face showed what two decades of service could do to even the most dedicated.
Some professions require a certain adherence to its culture, although not part of the official policy. Mavericks, self-starters and long-haired freaky people need not apply.
Unfortunately, the conflict between old school tradition and today’s demand for change has proactive employees caught in a clutch.
To lose the fire of passion that first drew you into your profession is the greatest loss of all. To suffer the darkening of vision for serving the greater good because a handful of naysayers fear change is a disservice to all, but mostly the fearful.
“Stay faithful,” were the words that came to mind. Don’t grant others the power over your life’s passions. Just don’t break.
Do good,
Scott
Categories: FIT@50
Boy, I could read this out loud to my fellow Franciscans and they would probably think you were one of us discussing the challenges of living out our lives. I think it is a real challenge for all of us involved in “helping” ministries to easily get discouraged and question whether or not what we are doing is of any value. “Apply yourself to the task both when convenient and inconvenient,” “to give and not to count the cost,” “to fight and not to heed the wounds.”