‘You will never feel truly satisfied by work until you are satisfied by life.’ – Heather Schuck

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” - Ecclesiastes 3:1

I grew up taking dance classes, specifically ballet. Now I’m a ballet teacher! There are several things that are absolutely key in dancing. One of which is balance. Balance is what allows you to eventually hold effortless poses while on pointe (standing on your toes). It gives you the strength you need to do several pirouettes (turns) with good technique. Balance is something that we begin to teach with even our smallest dancers, all the way through until you are a professional. When you balance in dance, you are not holding perfectly still, instead you are adjusting your weight, paying attention to where your body is aligned, and holding your muscles. 

In life, we are constantly balancing things. You can never be still, instead you need to adjust, pay attention and hold onto what matters most. God never intended for any of us to do it all perfectly. In fact, He knows we can’t. He simply asks us to continue to live in faith. 

Before we get into the ins and outs of balancing, I want to remind you of something. There is no real, perfect balance. Some days, one thing will take precedence and priority and that will be replaced by something else on a different day. The goal is never to equally divide our time between the various pieces of our lives. But rather to pay attention to how we can adjust our responsibilities and times to live our lives well. 

Keeping Faith at the Center

‘Time is really the only capital that any human being has and the only thing he can't afford to lose.’ – Thomas Edison

While there is no perfect balance, the ability to adjust and keep moving throughout life with strength and faith is a skill! So here are the things that I have found the most helpful throughout the years, as I have tried to grow in my ability to balance:

1. Focus on Faith - even when it’s chaotic!

Before I had kids, my quiet times were actually quiet. I could wake up naturally and then just sit in silence and rest and enjoy my time without feeling rushed. Things have changed so much since then! Now that I have kids, my mornings are busy. If I want to have a quiet time, I have to wake up extra early and hope that my kids don’t decide to wake up early that day. I sit and try to enjoy my time before I hear them waking up. Because by then, I know it’s only moments before they have a million things to tell me, and I have to get everyone’s breakfasts. It is ok if your time with God has to look different in the various seasons of your life. 

Try This: If you are struggling to find time in your day for your quiet times, add into what you are already doing. You could try listening to worship music while doing chores, praying while driving, or listening to scripture when you are busy doing other things. God will meet you where you are at! 

2. Create Boundaries

It is so easy to let things just take over! Work can be full of pressing deadlines, or can be something we are incredibly passionate about. Our side gig can feel never ending. The house chores are never done. There is always something that feels pressing, as if it needs our immediate attention. However, rest, play, time to just be, or to invest in our families, are just as important or productive as anything else on our to do lists. If we aren’t careful all of these things will blur together. Instead, it is important to set boundaries. Clear times when we work, when we hustle and also when we rest. 

Try This: If you feel like work and productivity have taken over your life, set clear hours around work, chores, side hustles, etc. Make sure to turn off notifications, when you aren’t at work. Then try creating a closing or transitioning ritual, so that you can help your brain shift between focuses. 

3. Allow Yourself to Rest

There are so many times in my life when rest has felt out of reach, as if it was something I couldn’t enjoy unless everything else was done. The culture that we live in glorifies hustle and busyness. There are so many videos about: “How I wake up at 5 am and crush the day” or “How to hustle until you make it”. And I used to think that’s what I wanted! To be one of those people who wakes up super early and gets more done before other people are awake. To rush through and hustle until I felt like I had made it. Yet, slowly, I have come to realize that’s not what God is calling us to. He offers us rest, sabbath, and grace. His rest is what will truly nourish us and allow us to live our best lives. 

Try This: Schedule in some time for real rest! If you struggle to give yourself time to rest on a regular basis, then just add it to your calendar. Rest will help you to balance all of the other aspects of your life. Rest for you could be: taking a walk, reading a book, sitting in silence, or even taking yourself on a little adventure. 

4. Ask for Help

Do you ever feel like you have to do it all alone? Juggle your work, your home, your family, all of your tasks, and probably some of someone else’s? I think as women we are expected to do it all. We carry more of the burdens in our homes, families and jobs. We take on too many things. Then we feel like we can’t ask for help. And yet, we know that we aren’t able to do it all. We are human and fallible. So it’s ok to ask for help! Not only is it ok, it’s actually something that we should do. So give yourself permission to ask for help. 

Try This: Choose one thing that you need help with this week. Maybe chores, a specific task, or help with the kids, so that you can get some time. Then ask! You could ask your partner, your co-workers, a family member, friends, or maybe even your kids. Then embrace the imperfection and enjoy the community. 

5. Embrace Grace!

The truth is that balance is about continuing to make adjustments and be willing to make progress over time. Nothing will ever be totally perfect, and that’s ok. Sometimes you will feel like everything is running smoothly and other times it will feel like a train wreck. So give yourself and the people around you grace! God will be there to hold you up, and strengthen you through the journey.

Try This: Journal at the end of every day to write down what you are grateful for, be as specific as possible. The more you focus on gratitude and love, the more full and wonderful your life will feel! 

No matter the ups and downs in this journey of life, God will be with us offering grace and helping us through. So give yourself some grace and trust in His love!

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” - Matthew 6:33

‘We have overstretched our personal boundaries and forgotten that true happiness comes from living an authentic life fuelled with a sense of purpose and balance.’ – Dr. Kathleen Hall

QUESTIONS AND REFLECTIONS 

One of my favorite things to do is to ponder, reflect and journal, it gives me time to think through all the various aspects of life. May you find time in your day or your week, to sit and reflect. You can use these questions as a starting place for your reflection, or just an addition to your normal journal rhythm.

1. Do you feel like you have balance in your life? Why or why not? 

2. What do you think true balance would look like in your life? 

3. Which of the steps do you want to try our this week?  

4. Where have you seen God at work in your life lately?

5. What’s one thing from this blog that you want to use or put into action? 

‘May you find the balance of lifetime for work but also time for play. Too much of one thing ends up creating stress that no one needs in their life.’ – Catherine Pulsifer

“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.” - James 3:17