A Healthy, Well-Balanced Life
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.”
Matthew 36:34
The to -do lists seem overwhelming, don’t they? Work, friends, church, our spouse, the kids, then the kids activities and somewhere, self care falls into the mix. Seriously, I could make this whole devotional a list of “to-do’s.” How on earth are we supposed to find sanity and a moment of serenity in the midst of such chaos?
I spend the majority of my time on the road, touring around Canada leading worship for various churches, conferences and events. When I’m not on the road, I spend the other half of my time pouring into my home church & the people around me. Most days it feels like a lot and often I find myself extremely exhausted by the end of a day. When people would ask me how things were I used to say, “this is a busy season” – but I’ve come to realize that life is a ‘busy season’ and learning how to navigate it well has taken a lot of maneuvering and intentionality. Perhaps you can relate.
In trying to live a healthy balanced life, one of the most important things for both my husband and I is community. Without the covering and grounding of our home church we wouldn’t be able to sustain what we do on the road. We know we have a handful of committed prayer warriors praying for us daily, holding us accountable and checking in on our marriage and health. In my personal experience as a Christian, this feels like the most important marker for living a healthy and well balanced life because community helps keep things in check. Now, I’m not saying I do this ‘well balanced’ thing well – because I don’t. But, I do seek out community with intentionality because it really matters to me. I wish the gym felt as equally as pressing, but hey… can’t win em all!
When there’s so much to do, it’s hard to know where to start. It can be hard to know how to get a handle on having a balance of work, play, rest and health. It becomes easy to worry about the days to come – in fact, I find it hard to sleep at night when I begin to think about what needs to get done and all the places I need to be for the following day. Matthew 36 tells us, not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Starting my day with Jesus and a coffee is a practical way for me to take captive of my anxious thoughts and start my day knowing that God goes before me giving me the peace that I need to take on another day.
The Bible says that God’s wrap-around presence gives us strength – and when we “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to us.” (Matthew 36:34) This takes intentionality to turn our eyes to Jesus and rest in the promise that when we seek the kingdom of God, he will guide us in truth and wisdom in knowing how to live a life of balance. Are you feeling like you could be doing this “heathy life” thing a little better? Well, hey – me too.
I pray that God would reveal to you the things that are important to him, so they they would become important to you and I pray that you would seek Jesus above all things – He will be your guide to living a healthy well balanced life.