I
know a woman who God had blessed immensely. She learned the
gift of sign language and was being used to minister to the
deaf in her church. Her ministry grew and she was able to
teach classes and train a group of impressionable young
women to minister to the deaf as well.
Somewhere
along the way this young woman lost her balance. Her
priorities became distorted and her heart was deceived when
the enemy threatened her ministry. Now she is no longer
being used by God and she has left a group of young women
behind her to find their own way.
When God
calls us to work in His kingdom or even to manage a home or
business, it is imperative for us to maintain a measure of
balance. If we don’t we are in danger of losing sight of
our purpose and not fulfilling our calling. Our number one
priority must be to maintain our relationship with God.
Service without relationship will lead to spiritual burnout
and will put us in a weak position against the enemy’s
attacks. We need to stay close to the Master so that we can
stay in the Master’s plan.
Our second
priority is to our relationships with those close to us. If
we are married, we can’t expect our marriage to stay healthy
and strong if we are always putting our ministry before time
with our husband. If we have children they also need our
time and attention. There are times when we will have to be
away from our families to do what God has called us to do.
Establishing healthy boundaries in our ministry by taking
control of our schedule instead of allowing it to take
control of us will enable us to strike the right balance in
this area. This may be as simple as saying you will only
take out of town speaking engagements 2 weekends per month
or something of this nature.
Thirdly, we
need to take care of ourselves. Do you remember how to
relax? Have you forgotten how to unwind? I did. It is a
strange and scary thing. Recently, I made a life change and
left a full-time job outside of the home to focus on some
things I felt God calling me to do. For 3 years my life had
been on full speed. I had learned to balance a lot of
activities at once, managing a family, a household, two
small businesses and a full-time job. But, somewhere along
the road things began to get busier and balancing turned
into juggling and one by one the balls began tumbling down.
I was facing major burnout and it was time to reclaim my
life and get back into the life of balance and peace God
desires for all of us. The strange and scary thing was that
when I did have the time to relax and start reclaiming my
life, I didn’t know how. I had been in stress mode for so
long, relaxing and taking it easy was a lost art to me.
Thankfully, it was an art that could be relearned.
Replenishing ourselves is no new truth or new revelation.
We have all heard it over and over again. Maybe we hear it
so often because we have trouble letting it sink in. So
often, we women have issues that keep us from taking care of
ourselves. We feel good when we are helping and taking care
of others. It is in us to do this. But taking care and
nurturing ourselves is something totally different and
something we only do if everything else is done first.
Sometimes, everything else doesn’t have to be done first.
We just need to take care of ourselves.
One major
thing I have learned in my quest to live a truly balanced
life is that it involves so much more than learning how to
juggle schedules and manage our calendar to fit everything
in. True balance is an inner process and journey. We have
to be willing to look honestly at our lives and make some
tough choices sometimes. We have to be willing to risk
being unpopular at times to do what is right and healthy for
us mentally, spiritually, emotionally and sometimes
physically.
Taking the
journey to living a balanced life will bless your ministry
beyond what you could ever imagine. Really, it is the only
way to truly reach your highest potential in whatever God
has called you to do.
Dietta L. Stewart is the author of
The Balanced Woman: A Christian Woman's
Guide to Balanced Living and
the editor of the free monthly newsletter Balance Boosters.
You can visit her website at
http://www.balanceboosters.com
