My friend, a Catholic sister, once responded with a chuckle to my five-minute lament on how I long for more balance in my life. It was not the response I had anticipated. I had hoped she would put a comforting arm around my shoulder, and tell me what a saint I was. Instead, she laughed and said, “Balance is too much work!”
Balance is not the answer to an overextended schedule. You can prioritize, analyze and criticize all you want to but the facts remain. There are just too many false gods in our lives. Our schedule can be a false god fashioned in our own likeness. It is not balance that’s needed here, but repentance.
A simple act of prayer attached to an ordinary responsibility brings the presence of God into our daily lives and frees us from the mundane moments that eat up our time. Combining work with worship allows us to be extravagant with our time and still feel refreshed.
This message is based on “Finding Your Pace,” a resource written by Barbara DeGrote-Sorensen that appeared in Programs, Retreats and Devotions 2 published by Women of the ELCA in 1996.