By Meghan Hatcher
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A phrase spoken off-handedly during the December cohort meeting of The Change Maker’s Project has stuck with me ever since that Saturday in Baltimore — “perpetual state of preparation.” What the pastor/social entrepreneur/justice seeker meant by that phrase wasn’t something altogether virtuous. For Rev. Heber Brown III, pastor at Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in North Baltimore, a “perpetual state of preparation” becomes an impediment to faithfully fulfilling one’s call in the world. 

By Tiffany Brooks

​Last month’s reflection was about patience and now the lesson has been on the need to prioritize rest. It seems like at the snap of a finger everything began speeding up. The partnerships that were created had now gained speed and traction, but back to the need of finding balance it’s all becoming quite overwhelming. Between school, work, church responsibilities and Focused Vision I can barely find time to breathe. This is also due to me taking on way more than I can handle. One of the issues that I have been working through personally is being ok that sometimes everything won’t go according to the plan that I have created. I typically like to get things done and out of the way which at times causes everything to intersect at once and what ends up happening is I unnecessarily burn myself out. The turning point for me was when I got sick towards the end of this month and could not go home to celebrate the holidays with my family. The sad part is that, that was my first time resting, but my body had to literally shut itself down in order to do so. So, for the sake of moving forward and finding balance, resting will be my priority. 
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