Living a balanced life can be challenging. How do we balance the demands of work, family, church, and extracurricular activities? Trying to maintain balance is vital for our mental and physical health, but it’s kind of like riding a bicycle. It’s easy to lose control.
I’ll never forget the day my boys, ages six and ten, raced down a steep hill on their bikes. I was
jogging behind. Not the smartest thing I’ve ever done. As I tried to keep up with them, my
younger son, sped down the hill faster than he could ride safely. He was determined to catch his
big brother, but the bike’s front wheel began to speed-wobble oscillating from side to side.
Before I could reach him, he lost control. It was one of the scariest accidents I’ve witnessed, and
this momma could do nothing to stop it as he flipped over the handlebars. Thankfully, he didn’t
break any bones.
New Year, Balance, Saying No
Just as my son needed to slow down to maintain balance, we must put on the brakes to live
healthy, productive lives. As we roll up our sleeves and embark on fulfilling new goals for 2024,
slow down to prevent flipping over life’s handlebars. You may need to humbly and wisely say no
to opportunities or step down from extracurricular obligations.
Did you know that saying “no” is okay? I don’t employ this word often myself, so I’m writing
this article for me too. We all have limits. Some of us have more energy than others, but all of us
need rest. Every human body on the planet requires a period of stillness and quiet. According to
an article from the Cleveland Clinic, “Silence offers opportunities for self-reflection and
daydreaming, which activates multiple parts of the brain. It gives us time to turn down the inner
noise and increase awareness of what matters most.” Along with stillness and quiet, our bodies
require seven to eight hours of sleep each night.
If you have no quiet time during your day and do not get the sleep you need, ask yourself what
you can say no to. I promise, it’s okay. Our pride can keep us doing activities we no longer need
to do. Keep in mind that our lack of letting go may keep someone else from stepping up. When
we say no, we replace white-space in our day and calendar.
- Feed body and soul.
Begin the day with a breakfast for your body and your spirit. This includes eating a low-sugar,
protein-packed meal and spending time in the Word. I know finding quiet time to read the Bible
is difficult for busy parents with small children. If you have littles, you may eat your spiritual
breakfast during nap time or in the pick-up line at school. It doesn’t have to be hours long. Even
if you can only spend 10-15 minutes reading scripture, it’s worth it. Find a Bible reading plan
like the simple ones on my website or join a small group that studies the Bible to give you
incentive to dig deeper.
- Exercise your body and spirit.
The importance of physical exercise and movement cannot be emphasized enough. Personally, I
do great for about two weeks and then something happens like travelling, and I get off track. But
when I get back to a consistent schedule, I feel better. My muscles may be screaming at me, but
my spirit is lifted, and I have more energy to do what I need to do. I suggest 20 minutes, 30 max.
Doctors recommend working out at least 4 times a week, but if I miss one day, I’m less likely to
be consistent.
Walking is great exercise. Get outside. Put worship music in your ears, and then you are multi-
tasking—working out body and spirit. There’s nothing like exercising your body and soul and
worshiping the Creator who told the sun when to rise—and it’s awesome to workout watching
the sun usher in the new day. - Spend 20 minutes on household chores daily.
I’ve discovered a great way to keep my home clean. I spend 20 minutes on household chores
daily. These chores may be on the inside of the house, cleaning bathrooms and folding clothes, or
working outside taking care of the yard and plants—maybe sweeping the front porch. If I work a
little bit every day on these tasks, they aren’t such big mountains when the weekend comes, and
this opens more time to play and rest. - Practice saying no to busy. We can’t do everything.
I covered this a little earlier, but here’s the how-to:
List all your extra-curricular activities/volunteer positions.
Ask the question: “Which ones do I no longer enjoy or have grace to do?”
Circle these activities.
I’m giving you permission to step down from the things you circled. Here’s a great article about
tactfully saying no to volunteer opportunities or stepping down from one. - Take a day off every week.
It’s called a Sabbath. It means to cease from working, and in the Old Testament, the Sabbath
lasted from sunrise to sunset. Yes, we live on the other side of the Cross, but intentional rest
during the week demonstrates our trust in God’s wisdom, our obedience, and our humility. The
world really won’t stop revolving if we take a day off. It doesn’t have to be on Saturday or
Sunday, but we need a day set aside to rest. It is imperative for our balance and our self-care.
5 Tips to Find Balance
We can’t say no to everything, so here’s some tips to balance the responsibilities, activities, and
goals that must stay in our lives. These tips for balance are both spiritual as well as physical. We
can’t ignore the fact that mind, body, and soul are connected. The way we care for one of these
areas in our lives will affect the other two. I’ve found, my best days are the ones when I include
exercise, healthy eating, Bible study, and intentional worship.
Balance Eternal and Everyday with Prayer and Holy Spirit
The tips I’ve given will help balance our busy lives, but we need the Holy Spirit to help us
prioritize the eternal with the everyday. Listen for Holy Spirit’s guidance even in the smallest
things on your “to do” list. When you feel the speed-wobble starting, put on the brakes. Take a
break and go to the Word of God.
“Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father
doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does” John 5:19.
If Jesus listened to the Father, how much more do we need to be still and listen? Journal your
questions and struggles and copy the scriptures He leads you to. We don’t want to get to heaven
and hear God say, “Your house was immaculate, everyone in your family always had clean
underwear, and you never ran out of milk, but you did not love your neighbor.”
To balance the eternal with the everyday, pray. Ask God to order your day first thing in the
morning. (I like getting on my knees.) And plan to bless one person. Make a phone call, visit a
neighbor, speak to that homeless person you see on your way to work every day. Shake things
up. Do a little bit of both–the mundane and the eternal.
Prayer is a prerequisite to finding balance. Will you pray with me?
“Dear Lord, we have so much to do. How will it ever get done? Please don’t let us miss the
eternal jobs, because of our frantic haste to accomplish the ones on this planet. We know Your
priorities are different from our human ones. Grant us discernment. Slow. Us. Down. Don’t let us
move into action until we’ve heard from You. Amen.”
Remember, it’s okay to coast riding down steep hills. You really don’t need to beat your big
brother or sister. Enjoy the ride. Grab Andy’s free printable with these tips plus 7 scriptures and
prompts to further help you find balance.
Author Bio:
Andy Lee passionately helps others live the abundant life Jesus promised. She’s ministered to
women for over twenty-five years as a Bible teacher, speaker, and author. Connect with Andy on
her website, wordsbyandylee.com , follow her on Instagram @wordsbyandylee to join her Faith
Friday Live teaching, or be encouraged by her life-giving messages on her YouTube channel,
AndyLeeBible.