Does Life Balance Ever Really Happen?
Recently, on one of the CWM surveys a CWM shared how she always feels she is not 100% efficient where she is at the moment. For instance, at work she is thinking about home and when at home she is thinking about work. I have had other CWMs say how do you keep all the balls in the air without any of them falling?
Can I be honest with you? Perfect life balance does not happen on this side of heaven. Feeling like you can't manage all the balls in the air is a normal feeling. Can we manage it so it is not as stressful? Yes. Can we manage it perfectly every day? No.
One of the reasons our balls come crashing down is the unexpected. I can have a perfectly scheduled day with a great to do list and then one of my children calls from school and he/she is sick. My perfectly (ha!ha!) tuned schedule changes when an after school baseball practice has been changed. The unexpected happens almost every day and can throw a really tight schedule off in no time.
Do I have any hope? First, let me say I do think things get a little better the longer you are a Mom and when your children get older. I really want to reassure you that the "I'm never get anything done completely feeling" is a normal feeling. I know we don't like it.
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So, what is the answer? We need to work very hard at being in the moment. Work on the task that is in front of you at this very moment. If you are working on a project at work focus on that, if you are playing a game with your child don't think about work. I know this is easier said than done. Most women are planners. Often, we are looking 2 days down the road or 3 weeks down the road. Truly, try to focus on the task at hand and don't multi-task. I know we Moms are the Queens of multi-tasking. Sometimes, multi-tasking can make us less efficient. So, try to focus on one thing at a time as best as you can.
Also, prayer is so important and should be the start of every day. Specifically, pray that God will guide your day, your interruptions, and what He has planned for you this day. Ask God to give you wisdom about learning to say No to things that take up too much of your time. Ask Him to give you peace when you feel harried.
One thing I'm learning in my own quiet times right now is learning to worship God. Just spend time worshipping Him. A book I'm reading about worship is called Satisfy My Thirsty Soul. Linda Dillow, the author, recommends you pray the ABCs of God. Meaning you say a prayer beginning with A and list all the attributes of God with each letter of the alphabet. You have to be a little creative when you get to X. I have found the more I focus on God and worshipping Him the better able I am to handle the dropped balls and the unplanned emergencies.
So, will we ever achieve perfect home/work balance? I don't think so this side of heaven. We can be intentional on how we spend our time. We can choose to not allow work to creep in on our home time. We can be highly efficient at work so we can get home on time and enjoy our children. Ask God to show you how to manage all that is on your plate. He knows what tomorrow holds and He is waiting there to help you with whatever comes your way.
Final Thoughts
Remember to laugh each day. Laughter is good for the soul.
