A Balanced Life?

Do you struggle to find balance in your life? 

Is it a perpetual challenge to make all the tasks, and all the people interactions, fit into the available hours? 

As women in 2020 living in the busy lane, sometimes we may wonder: is it even possible to achieve “balance” in our lives? 

Several years ago, I read an interview with Jill Briscoe, a woman with a very full schedule. She was a pastor’s wife, mother of four, grandmother of 12, a prolific author, a ministry-magazine publisher, a speaker and a world-traveler - whew! 

Frequently, her words have reminded me that my idea of balance is not necessarily God’s. I hope that you will be blessed and encouraged through reading this excerpt from her interview.

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You must have had a support system in place to accomplish full-time work, both here and abroad. With young children at home, did you ever struggle with balance? 

I don’t believe that balance is having the same amount of things in different boxes: this is my family box, work box, play box, ministry box – all equal. I look at the life of Christ: He had 30 years at home with no ministry; then He had three years of ministry and no home life. By all appearances that’s unbalanced.

Balance to me is doing the tasks the Father has called me to do, at the time He’s called me to do them. That certainly will look unbalanced to some. The Lord has called me to Himself, to be His disciple, first and foremost. More specifically, the tasks He’s called me to will vary according to my circumstances and the season of my life.

For Stuart (my husband) and I, we muddled through what we believed we were called to do. Some people would say, “What’s a father doing on the road all the time?” The flip side would be, “What’s an evangelist doing staying home all the time?” The greater call supersedes. Jesus said that anyone who would put his or her family before Him is not worthy to be called His disciple. Furthermore, I don’t think we can judge one another; it’s not our job.

Ours has indeed been an extraordinary situation, but in a sense everybody’s story is extraordinary because every individual and family is unique in God’s plan. If you have sought God in your decision making, then you must proceed with confidence, whether it’s home schooling, going back to work, or heading for the mission field. 

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I appreciate Jill’s perspective. When I ask many women how they are, they often respond “busy”. I think living life to the fullest often includes busyness, and that’s okay. Our perspective, though, can make all the difference in how we approach our busyness. 

This may be a good time for you and I to have an attitude check. Are we feeling a sense of joy and peace in the midst of our busyness…or do we just feel overwhelmed and frustrated? That may be a clue as to whether we are doing the tasks the Father has called us to do at this time, or instead we have filled our days with activity…doing what we think we should do. 

My life looked quite a bit different when Bruce and I were married over 40 years ago. We enjoyed several years of living life with just the two of us, then the season changed when we had three toddlers under age 5! The physical demands of young children sometimes meant that “balance” included naps, and extended times of play at home. The “balance” shifted again when our kids were teens, when they moved out, moved away, or got married. In each season, the stress points of the day were different, my family schedule was different, and my work schedule changed. In each season, my busyness was re-defined and therefore my sense of balance was redefined. The key then – and now – really boils down to the principle that Jill identifies: Am I doing the tasks that God has called me to do at this time? If so, then my life is in balance!

Maybe it’s a good time to re-evaluate your life “balance”. Is there something you need to add into your life to achieve a better balance, or is there something you need to lay aside for your life to be in God’s balance?

Pray. Ponder. And see how God might lead you.

Let me pray for you. Dear Jesus, something in us wants to keep an even balance in our schedule, almost as if by measuring out our exact moments we can have our balance assured. So thank you for Jill Briscoe’s words, reminding us that to control our balance may not truly be the best goal for our life. Rather, achieving balance really is about walking in step daily with you, doing the tasks you have called us to do at the time you called us to do them. Help those reading this blog to be honest with themselves – and you – as they explore what balance could look like in their lives. In this way, may you bring them to a great sense of peace and joy, whatever the fullness of their schedule. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.