I was feeling overwhelmed…and not because of my business. I felt emotionally distraught by all of the suffering I kept hearing about all around me.  

Two people I knew were diagnosed with breast cancer and getting double mastectomies. So and so’s father was dying. Another family’s son was dying of leukemia. A friend without much family support became a single parent of four, three under the age of five, when her spouse decided he wanted to have more fun and find himself. Person X was having financial problems.  Person Y just got laid off from his job. Another colleague’s son was murdered. This family’s child needed a heart transplant.

Those are just the events in my circle of friends and acquaintances. That doesn’t include the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton.

There were so many events going on around me guilt enveloped me that I wasn’t keeping up with sending cards or offering words of encouragement.

I noticed feeling more weighed down when the ladies in my weekly Regnum Cristi Encounter for Christ voted to list prayer intentions at the end of our meeting.

Instead of feeling lighter from our “Holy huddle” like I used to feel, I left weighed down and burdened by the tragedy we highlighted among all the people we collectively knew.

A conversation with my spiritual director relieved my guilt. He validated that it is easy to get overwhelmed with all of the suffering of the fallen world and the painful realities of modern, especially with the prayer intention ritual. He bluntly said that everyone dies as a natural part of life, as painful as it feels when someone happens to be a loved one.

He suggested praying for the person or situation at the time I heard of it, and let it go. Give it to God. He can handle it. He warned that overfocusing on our efforts to pray can become an obsessive spiritual narcissism, where we think it is our prayers and not God’s power that ultimately remedies these situations.  

He thought that opening up the discussion around this with my Regnum Cristi group to see if we might want to modify our newly added practice of weekly prayer intentions might be useful.

A side benefit of being a busy entrepreneur is that you have so many thoughts going on in your mind that you forget or procrastinate doing things you planned to do.

Before I had a chance to bring up the idea of canning the prayer intentions, one of my friends wanted to share an update on a family we had been praying for. She excitedly shared the great news about a family in our parish with a five-year old in need of a heart transplant.  

Parts of the family had moved to a medical center thousands of miles away to provide their son with needed care as he waited for a donor. Time was running out. Our entire parish kept the family in their prayers.  

My friend played a recording of a phone conversation her daughter has had with the boy who was awaiting a heart transplant.

Two days before a donor appeared.

“Tell us why you are excited today, John Francis!”

An adorable, bubbly voice on the recording said, “Today I get my new heart!”

Tears started running down my face.

The family was notified the day before of finding a donor. That day happened to be the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

My heart melted, and I felt extremely appreciative I had not opened up my planned discussion.

Most people think of the perks of having your own business – the time freedom, the flexibility, not having to answer to a boss, greater income potential. But greater responsibility accompanies the road of the entrepreneur. You are responsible not just for yourself, but for your staff, your clients, and the people you might serve in the future, not to mention the operations of running your business from cash flow to strategic planning. Managing your energy involves managing your emotional gas tank.

As a heart-centered entrepreneur the decisions you have to make in your business can get even more dicey. You have the potential to feel more guilty for taking too much time away to work your business from your family. You might have a hard time making the difficult decisions that are necessary for the survival of your company, but might not be the touchy feeling ones you would like to be making, like letting go of staff or difficult clients or saying “no” to requests for your time.

You can have a heart and be a successful business owner if you follow these tips:

1. Learn how to let go and be the screen door, letting the information move through you. Tragedy surrounds us daily. Definitely take these concerns on the spot to God in prayer and discern if you are called to take further action. Give them to God and let them go.  He is in the business of handling them well. Allowing emotional pile-ups of the world’s tragedies can immobilize you in achieving your own God-given mission.
2. Work your circle of influence. The Evil One uses bogging us down on situations outside of our control to distract us from what is in our control. Reaching out to people who are equipped to serve in your business; checking in on current customers; improving your systems, products, and customer systems; knowing your message and get it out there; developing your team –all these may not sound as relevant as pining over world peace. But these activities are in your control and can have a real and positive impact on the people you encounter on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
3. Step back and admire God’s brilliance. God’s ways are not our ways. Struggles and difficulties often spark needed spiritual re-tooling for good for the sufferer and their loved ones. God is famous for making lemonade out of lemons. Your worry wastes energy.  Pray, move on, and watch God work his magic.

Speaking of magical miracles …news is that little John Francis and his new heart have become fast friends. He and his family has a new lease on life.

If you want to learn how Christian manifesting might be a tool to help you achieve your dreams with ease, I invite you to sign up for a Manifesting Your Vision session by going to https://talkwithchristina.com

Christian entrepreneur’s biz and life tip:  Taking time out to see the bigger picture of eternity and spending your energy and focus on the piece of the puzzle God gave you give you balance and perspective to handle the day to day challenges of running a business.