I don’t know about you but I love to dance. It doesn’t always look the most graceful and some might even say that I have two left feet. I really do not care to discuss the opinions of others concerning my dancing abilities though.
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” – Albert Einstein
You may be wondering what dancing has to do with living a balanced life. Well, as I sat one day the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about the dances we do in life. Some may even call these various times we go through “seasons”. I would propose to you to view life as dance school. I know it sounds a bit different, but the Spirit of God is not concerned with our limited thinking and likes to stir things up. Quite a bit I might add. I know all too well.
I began to think about how hectic at times my life had been recently. I have always been one to juggle a lot of things at one time. Life just didn’t seem right if I didn’t have a million things to do at once. Even if that meant that I was stressed over having so much on my plate. Motherhood, wife, graduate school, leaving a career, starting a business for first time, and all the other titles that were floating over me.
Do you feel like you are always juggling too much and need to learn how to live a balanced life?
The dance that was represented by my life the most during this time would have to be “krumping”. Somewhat uncoordinated but lots of energy. If you have no idea what “krumping” is, I have included a wonderful image for you below. I hope you enjoy the laugh. Definitely was not living a very balanced life. I gave it all I had though. That is, until I felt like I could not give anymore.
I learned a very valuable lesson during this hectic period of my life. When I think about it, most of my adult life could be defined by this unhealthy need to always be juggling too much. Because how could I ever live any other way. I dare not choose to put some of those responsibilities down. After all, who else was going to do what I was capable of doing? Then again, was I actually capable of doing it all? Or, was I too focused on the juggling act instead of the end of the show… my quality of life, legacy, and the example I was setting for my children.
The Holy Spirit took me to the book of Exodus to give revelation of the stronghold in my thinking that was holding me hostage. In Exodus chapter 5 it tells about the time when Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and informed him that God wanted him to let the people go so that they could go worship God in the wilderness for 3 days.
Instead of allowing the people to go, Pharaoh became upset and more obnoxious. He decided to command that the people be required to do the same amount of work with less resources. Isn’t that like our own thinking sometimes. When we should be worshiping God in our situations, we have this voice telling us to do more work instead to accomplish what needs to be done.
“You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'” (Exodus 5:7-8)
We get so wrapped up in making it happen in our own strength that we do not allow God into our situations. We start striving to survive. God tells us that He wants us to look to Him and cooperate with Him. When we learn how to live a balanced life, we go from striving to survive to thriving in life. We tear down the stronghold in our thinking that leads us into a life of barely getting by or a life of constant chaos.
I decided that I didn’t want my dance in life to look like “krumping” anymore so I shifted and started to do the tango. You see the tango is a very passionate and intense dance. The difference though is that the moves are very precise. I guess you can say a bit more organized. This was a key to living a more balanced life.
It is okay to take on more one than one task, but it is how you move as you do it that determines your dance skills. I hope the following list will help you live a more balanced life. It definitely has been a help for me. I have to remind myself to be aware of these things from time to time still. As I do, I can feel a shift from doing a tango to becoming more graceful like a ballerina. Focused, more flexible, stronger (have you seen a ballerina on her toes), and most importantly more graceful.
How to live a more balanced life…
- Understand that God is always near and ready to help
- Pray for direction and to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in your life
- Do not listen to the lies of condemnation from the enemy that says you are not enough or that you have to overextend yourself for a sense of worth or acceptance
- Rest and take time for yourself ( you can’t pour into others if you are empty)
- Develop some organizational skills (if you are like me that may take some time and being real intentional – God is working with me)
- Do not be afraid to ask for help – it is NOT a sign of weakness
- Read your Bible (lots of great advice that save us a lot of striving)
Let us pray….
Father I thank You for being a faithful Father. You are my provider, my protector, my peace. You will never leave me nor forsake me. I know that your ways are higher than my ways and your thoughts higher than my thoughts (Isaiah 55:9), but I trust You anyways. Lead me and direct me in every area of my life. I surrender to You. Help me to learn how to receive the fullness of Jesus in my life. Holy Spirit have your way. Father open my eyes and ears to be more sensitive to Your Spirit. I do not want to miss anything that You want to reveal to me. In the name of Jesus, Amen.