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A Meditation for Youth Workers: Detox

Many years ago, I decided the staff of youth specialties were super tired. We were about to head into a busy season, and we were all running on fumes.

Sounds a little like coming off a busy youth ministry summer and jumping into a new school year, right?

We decided to give everyone a 7-day weekend, a mini-sabbatical. our amazing spiritual director beth slevcove wrote some beautiful meditations for those days, and I’ve just rediscovered them. I’m going to share them in a series here on my blog, and hope you’ll take ten minutes to rest and soak in god’s love for you as you read them. Here’s the first one:

DETOX

While they were on their way Jesus came to a village where a woman named Martha made him welcome in her home. She had a sister, Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and stayed there listening to his words.

Now Martha was distracted by serving, so she came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to get on with the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me.”

But the Lord answered, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! But only one thing is needed. Mary has discovered it- and I will not take it away from her. (Luke 10:38-42)

Read this a few times out loud.
Read it slow and listen if a word or phrase stands out to you. Notice if things bug you about this scripture or attract you and let those things become entry points to prayer.

Detox. If we take this week seriously, there are toxins that will come to the surface. Things we don’t notice in our full, busy lives. Things that drain our energy and rob us of life. What are they? What toxins have snuck in unaware? What are we choosing to go without this week? What are our distractions? Our worries and anxieties? And what is the One Thing Needed? The answers will be different for each of us.

This might be a good day to journal, or take a long walk alone and rant. Get your words out in conversation with God. Get in touch with how your body feels, how your mind feels, how your heart feels. Get your words out so you can make space inside yourself.