Skip to Main Content
Women of the ELCA
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Daily Grace
  • Contact
  • Ministry & Action
    • Discipleship
    • Justice
      • Human Trafficking
      • Racial Justice Advocacy
      • Racial Justice Advocacy Network resources
      • Domestic Violence
    • Membership
    • Stewardship
      • Thankofferings
      • Faithful Friends
      • Katie’s Fund
      • Gift Planning
    • Special Initiatives
      • Raising Up Healthy Women & Girls
      • Dear Friend in Christ
    • Scholarships
      • Lutheran laywomen
      • Lutheran Ordained Ministry
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Events
  • About
    • History
    • Executive Board
    • Staff
    • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Daily Grace
  • Contact
« Back to All Daily Grace

Building a balanced life

7.10.2015
|
Daily Grace

Balance promises us a drama-free life with everything in its proper place, all the time. It tells us that if we keep enough lists, we’ll never break down or burn out or forget to pay a bill or pick up our kids. But if Jesus couldn’t achieve it, how can we? The incarnation is messy. To be human is to sometimes (or often) feel it’s all too much.

Jesus may not have been balanced, but he was centered. He knew exhaustion, but he also knew where to go to find renewal.

Houses need to be built in a certain order; tiles can’t be laid until the floor is level, cupboards can’t be painted before they’re sanded, walls can’t be raised before the foundation is set. Our homes and lives may be in disarray, but frantically buying more tools and making improvement plans may distract us from what we really need.

Stopping to sit in God’s presence, engaging Scripture and prayer, will strengthen our foundations and help us to accept life as it is: unpredictable, glorious chaos. A beautiful, imperfect, unbalanced mess, with God as our loving, graceful, merciful, forgiving center.

This message is adapted from “Building a balanced life” written by Jennifer Hackbarth in the June 2015 issue of Café magazine.

Share
No Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Sign up for Daily Grace

Daily Grace is an on-the-go companion for your journey, offering a faith reflection every day. Encounter God’s extravagant, boundless and often surprising grace by signing up for a daily email message. You can also download the newly updated app for your IOS and Android devices.

Women of the ELCA
22m
Women of the ELCA
@WomenoftheELCA

Happy birthday, Katharina von Bora Luther! 🎉⭐️🎂 From "A Bold Life of Faith: Katharina von Bora Luther" by Linda Post Bushkofsky, A resource from Women of the ELCA, 2009. womenoftheelca.org/filebin/pd… #KatiesBirthday #2122KatiesFund #KatharinavonBoraLutherwasborntoday #Jan29 pic.twitter.com/fC9yD265al

Expand reply reply retweet retweet favorite favorite
Back to home

8765 W. Higgins Rd.

Chicago IL 60631

800-638-3522

[email protected]

Stay In Touch

Sign up for the WELCA Newsletter

Explore WELCA
  • Ministry & Action
  • Daily Grace
  • Resource Library
  • Events
  • Blog
  • News
  • About WELCA
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Photos
Explore Publications

Bold Cafe

A Lutheran perspective for women of Christian faith or any woman who is interested in how faith relates to the issues facing women today.

Gather Magazine

A mix of articles, theological reflections, devotions and stories of comfort and challenge that help readers grow in faith.

Cafe Podcast

Subscribe to our podcast:

Click to subscribe

© Copyright 2023 Women of the ELCA. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
© Copyright 2023 Women of the ELCA. All Rights Reserved.