Finding the balance we need is best done by bringing along and being in every moment. We have so many things vying for our attention and the battle we feel between these responsibilities can be exhausting. They can create a great amount of discouragement in our families. Deuteronomy 6:4-7 is helpful in understanding a healthy life. “The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
If we love God with all that we are and in all that we do, then we love the Lord in doing our job well and by being a
caring parent. We love the Lord when we worship him with our church and when we serve our community. These are expressions of faithfulness to a faithful God.
We do not have to quit our obligations to do what is most important. Instead, do what is most important while you do your obligations. The most important conversations and meaningful moments often come without planning, but by being intentional in every opportunity. For example, make faith a topic of conversation driving to ball practice or after band rehearsal. Prayer can be more than a way to start a meal. When your child shares something, stop and pray. Teach, demonstrate, and invest faith in your children along the way.
We don’t prioritize faith over family (or vice versa) rather, we center our family and its responsibilities on Jesus. We can feel that serving the Lord requires us to leave family behind, but we should figure out how to bring them along. What can we do in our church together? How can our family love our neighbor? How can we serve Him with our ball team, in our school, or any other current commitment?
It all comes back to love. “We love God because He first loved us,” (1 John 4:19). Jesus loved you first; enough to lay down his life for you. In response, we lay our lives down for him, making Him the center of our lives and our families. That’s the real balance we need.
