The Abundance of a Balanced Life

The Abundance of a Balanced Life 

I was restless, often feeling hopeless, and in my eyes failing at life.

I wanted to grow in my intimacy with God, I wanted to be there for my family and friends, and I wanted to find myself. . . the girl inside of me. . .  somewhere in the mix of it all. . . I was drowning in self-doubt and trying to balance it on my own. . . but I was so out of balance.

I came across Romans 8:28-39, and I realized so much about living abundantly through the balancing act with Jesus. . . I was enough because He was enough.

Read and think about these verses in Romans 8. . . what does God speak to you about your balancing act of life? 

Romans 8:28-39 (NIV) 

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us,who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns?No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 

36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

I love the Lord, and I also love my family with all my heart. If you follow me on any of my social media platforms, there is no question that I live out loud with my love of the Lord and my family. I have not always lived out loud . . . I did not feel that I was enough. Who was I to speak up about God . . . who would want to listen to me. I was feeling like I was just surviving at this mom and wife thing. But once I became closer to God and felt his amazing grace during the death of three immediate family members and my breast cancer journey, I found out that I was enough with all my brokenness because I did not have to do this life thing perfectly. God was sufficient and picked up the pieces that I could not.

What I have questioned in the past was how to make it all work. . . how do I get it all done? How do I keep the house clean, help provide financially for my family, cheer all my boys on at their school and athletic events, and spend quality time with my husband and put the Lord first.

Over the years, I have pushed myself to the back of the equation. God often got pushed to the side also, at least for a little while until I needed some strength and wisdom for the circumstances that were drowning me. I know the order of priority, but as a mom and wife that wants to be that “I’m always here for you” person, I found that I was not doing a very good job with the balancing act. When I was diagnosed with cancer, God made my life take a pause and slow down. It’s like God put a magnify glass on my life, and I saw how clearly unbalanced my life was. When my life is out of balance, I feel defeated, restless, and sometimes really hopeless. When I slow down and get my priorities straight, I figure out that God has something far better in mind for me . . . for all of us.

 According to Romans 8:37, we are conquerors of our daily schedule through Jesus. God wants us to plan our schedule with an open mind because He has plans too. When we consult God with our plans and put God first, the balance begins to happen. When God is in the middle of my schedule planning, I seem to get more done and stay in balance.

But here is what I realized and that gave me freedom from feeling guilty for not being that “I’m always here for you” person:

• I cannot do everything 
• I cannot be everything to everybody 
• I will stop trying to do it all 
• I will stop trying to be it all 

God never meant for me to handle everyone’s problems and take care of every situation that landed before me. It was unhealthy to be this kind of person. It was stressful and taking a toll on my mind, body, and spirit. Why do we do this to ourselves? Women seem to put it on themselves to juggle too many roles and find themselves feeling insufficient and failing at their life. . . it’s that hopeless, defeated, and restless feeling that takes over. When I am out of balance, I feel like I am failing at being a mom and wife and also a friend.

In Romans 8:34, Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God and interceding for YOU and me. He’s praying for us to have a life that is balanced, healthy, and joyful . . . He came so we could live a life of abundance. I am living out loud and writing this message with confidence because God has helped me restore the joy of a balanced life and added an abundance of life to my schedule.

I hope this message finds its way to women who need to hear that they are enough! They are enough, they just need to balance out their schedule WITH Jesus. They do not need to do more to be fulfilled or feel that they are enough. They will actually being doing less because God will take on the scheduling and planning for them and with them, when they put Him first.

Today’s Journaling Thoughts: 

• What is God revealing to you? Are you living a balanced life? What steps do you feel He is calling you to take to bring balance to your life? 
• Reflect and dig deeper into the commitment God wants you to make by reading Malachi 3:1-10.