I am in a new stage of life. This became especially apparent to me on my sabbatical, during which I turned 50 and helped my daughter move out and launch her adult life (which for me means living alone due to my husband living in long-term care), all while being away from my job and one of my primary communities.

Let’s just say I felt the transition.

Pivotal during this time was my retreat with a spiritual director. I told her that, in addition to the changes above, I sensed it was time to consider some shifts in my role at The Dale. When I took on the position of Executive Director, my job description was necessarily broad — at the time I was the only staff member, tasked with reimagining the organization. I did everything from fundraising to running programming, reporting to the CRA to doing outreach, bookkeeping tasks to washing dishes. Today, I get to work with a team.

As I considered what this might mean, I kept getting caught up in the obstacles I saw in the way. Most notably, we have to fundraise for everything at The Dale — including our salaries. It’s not as easy as just creating an additional staff position. But that was where my spiritual director stopped me. She challenged me to think about what I really want, as if anything might be possible. Then, with clarity about what I need, the barriers can be directly addressed.

This is what I have discovered: I would like to have more space to vision new things for The Dale, while remaining present to the community. For example, we would like to support people with low-barrier, dignity-based end-of-life care. I would also like to continue my work with Story Day, which includes brokering and nurturing connections amongst people who are motivated to address poverty and injustice. While I’m already engaged in these areas, I know I could be more effective with space to focus — which brings me to this: I’d like to have an administrative assistant.

This idea is in its infancy, and so this isn’t a job posting. Talking about this publicly is a part of me owning this longing — one that I’ve named with both The Dale Board and the staff team. A key piece of the puzzle is finding additional funding. I know that administration is not the most appealing budget line to support, but I can assure you of its necessity for a healthy organization. If this vision resonates with you, I welcome your thoughts, support, or even just encouragement as we explore what’s next.

Just today I told a friend that I continue to experience a spaciousness in my spirit post-sabbatical. I feel grounded. The transition back to routine at The Dale has been very good. There is a Story Day next week that I can’t wait to see unfold. Life at home is feeling far more settled. In the midst of everything, I can still hear that invitation to discover what I need and name it with precision.

Now I look forward to living into it.