The past three months have been a continual lesson in how to juggle plates while trying to remain balanced in my personal life. Our long prayed for desire to more formally expand our ministry to advocate the needs of step and blended families unexpectedly was answered in ways we could not imagine….we had moved to a new state last year….we had a wedding to attend in another state for our oldest daughter….Dh has had new responsibilities at work…and my own work from home business has somehow exploded (an answer to prayer that God would allow it to pay for the ministries needs) The plates started coming at me in multiple types of things to do each day: There’s the appetizers: Starting each day with God, Spending time in the Word, and Snacks of Scripture throughout the day. Then comes the plates with all the dishes I deal with: wifehood responsibilities, motherhood responsibilities, homeschooling responsibilities, home blessing responsibilities, take care of myself and my family responsibilities, work from home responsibilities, ministry from home responsibilities, Then come the dessert plates: time with friends, date nights with husband, family time , attend other folks’ celebrations etc. The plates all seem to need delicate balance, consistent effort to keep all things balanced or my world starts to crash….and crashing plates bring on messes of their own to my world that I am left to clean up!
Sometimes we try to skimp on our daily meals by not taking time for appetizers. However, my experience is life without the Word to begin each day is simply life without God. God aligns my thinking, desires, and gives me peace when I take time to savor and enjoy each tidbit He offers me. The appetizers on His tray truly give me a hunger for the life He has for me, for the relationship He desires of me, true hunger for a life I can live in love sharing with others His love for me.
The main courses often seem to be entirely too many to choose from. My favorites are always family, ministry, and work, however I must be careful to also eat from the take care plate and the exercise plate….and without the home blessing bites, we live in chaos! These plates are large and rather heavy sometimes….but they give me the oomph that keeps the rest of my world working well, not as glamorous as dessert of as easily enjoyed as the appetizers….they have a solid part of my need for adequate balance being realized.
The dessert plates are always so tempting, to spend too much time with others and enjoying rich fellowship and fun, however if one indulges too often, there’s all sorts of discomfort when one returns home….the house becomes ooey and gooey too….and sticky and leaves one feeling yucky for the neglect it has received. Eating too much of the desserts will leave everything else out of order, for so many small plates have to be washed up after and handled…the large plates of main courses start looking like they simply don’t have room in your life.
I often picture myself with 10 plates in the air…all spinning…and requiring careful consideration or they will crash and make even bigger messes. None of the plates in my world allow me to simply let them sit on the top of poles, but from time to time I can swirl them to a different player in my family, or hire help to spin them, and every now and then I simply learn to let go of one and let it spin into oblivion and either be caught by someone else or crash…they are usually the ones that I took up on my own, not waiting for God to tell me yes or no.
We were not made to be focusing on how to spin plates, but to focus on Him. We get so caught up in our own balancing act, that we forget the perfect balancer! God is a God of order, He understands and understood being faced with overwhelming need….can we remember the hungry crowds?….Can we remember the crowds that Jesus sometimes had to walk away from so he could spend time in prayer with His father to refocus? and He is a God of provision. If he sends the work, he’ll send the help. If he asks us to do something, He knows of a plan that allows us to succeed…..we have to stop thinking we are in charge…and let God guide us…and listen to His whisperings for us…..its a sure fire recipe for peace….and the balancing of our lives happens in an instant, even in the midsts of awful storms….when we allow God’s peace to calm our storms.
God is good!
