Finding Balance In The Busy

Conversations with women today sound the same. “I’m too busy,” we explain. Too busy for stillness, for refreshment, for prayer, or growth.

Somehow we’ve become too focused on our to-do list, attempting to get every item checked off.

Maybe you aren’t sure if you CAN get it all accomplished, or if you even want to.

Maybe, like Martha in the bible, you will spend your entire day trying to please others, see to the needs of others, and meet your personal standard you have set for yourself that helps you feel accomplished. You spend your day worrying and fretting, and your joy slips away before you realize it.

Anyone who has ever been a wife or mother knows that we do have that list of obligations each day.  People are depending on us. Our plates are full or overflowing. We’re tired, overwhelmed, and want to find balance but don’t know how to find it.

We can really overdo it in the “Martha department” if we don’t find some balance in our lives.  

So how do we find that happy medium? That perfect combination that allows us to have a life of service and results, yet still enjoy our time at the feet of Jesus?

The balance is beautiful.

A well-balanced woman is able to serve her family.  She is a wife that makes her husband a priority and a mama that tends to her children with love and patience.

She uses the gifts and talents that were given to her by her Father in heaven, and uses them to bring love and hope to others, and glory to God.

She is a caring, compassionate woman who shines for Jesus.  

At the same time, she is wise enough to know she can do none of this without making time to sit at the feet of Jesus.  

She knows she needs to start her day in communion with the Lord.

She is aware that His word is the fuel that her spirit needs to serve those around her.  

She realizes that her prayer time is crucial if she is going to be a lamp stand in this dark world.  

She is certain that her songs of praise keep the joy in her heart that she needs to spread joy to those who lack joy.  

Where Balance is Found

When we take time to be with the Lord, He gives us the balance we need to make it through our day.  He gives us the strength to get through the difficult tasks, and He gives us joy in tough circumstances.  With Jesus in our hearts, the tasks we do each day make a difference for His kingdom.

We will approach our husband and children differently, and the joy of the Lord – the joy of our hearts, will spread out to them as we share the love of Christ through our words and actions.  By seeking Him with our “first time” each day, He gives us what we need to be difference makers in this world. He supplies us with the strength for service.

There is a season for serving, and there is a season for worshiping.  Both of those seasons can happen in a single day.  We can be the best of Martha and the best of Mary. We can find our balance.  We can be the wife God calls us to be. We can be the mother, daughter, sister, and friend we need to be.  We can handle the to-do list if we rest first, in Him.

Wife Step: Reflect on whether you are giving God your leftovers. Commit to waking up 5 minutes earlier than you normally do to pray, and ask God to help your mind stay fixed on Him, and to draw near to Him for the strength you need for your day.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven”.

Betty Predmore is a writer, blogger, speaker, and ministry leader. She is a licensed Christ-based counselor and is Co-founder of the Women of Virtue Empowerment Network, a faith-based non profit organization created for the purpose of inspiring and encouraging women to find help and hope in Jesus Christ. She is also founder of Mom-Sense: Making Sense of Motherhood, where she writes and speaks on motherhood issues. Betty loves to speak at events, sharing practical life application mingled with God’s word, and sprinkled with humor.  She enjoys sharing her blogs on social media as a way of reaching out on a broader spectrum.  Social media has given her a platform to reach much farther than her feet could take her.