Give Me A Vision

It's time to complete the ministry plan and goals for our Operation Christmas Child Northwestern PA Area Team. I've been looking back and evaluating our plan from 2010 and it's sobering to realize that we only completed about half of the goals we set last year.

I've been thinking a lot about goal setting. Our Operation Christmas Child training advises us that our goals should be SMART--Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely. I thought our goals last year met those criteria and yet they weren't completed. Does that mean failure?

I hate (or fear) failure more than almost anything else. That's what often keeps me from trying new things when I'm pretty sure I won't succeed. So when I look at last year's uncompleted goals I hate the thought of making more for this year. God is omniscient and He knows how the year will unfold, so I'd like for Him to let me know the contacts He's going to give us and where He plans for our success.

Make no mistake, He did give us success last year. He gave us an increase of 5100 boxes over 2009. He provided us with a huge community-wide packing party where we packed 12,670 boxes in less than 6 hours--so much more than I imagined. But I look at the things we didn't do--packing parties in smaller venues, a booth at a fair, completing the church affirmation program, getting 30 new churches involved, getting new members on the media team, etc. and I wonder why those things didn't happen while others that were not on our plan did. I prayed much over last year's goals only to see many of them not completed while other things not listed as goals were completed.

It seems so strange. But what else is there to do except to pray again and to set goals again and to wait on the Lord again and to watch Him bring it all to pass again.

Lord, please, help me to see once more the millions of children around the world who need to know Your love and then give our team a plan to reach them.

Again.