Balance

Striking the proper balance is one of the keenest tests of our agency.”

  Neal A. Maxwell

 My youngest two daughters were dancers and I learned from them that the ability to balance increased with a strong ‘center.’  Pilates and Yoga were used to strengthen the abdominal muscles which allowed them to maintain balance in a variety of graceful poses.  I’ve never suffered from a shortage of things that need doing but I have struggled with trying to balance a  never-ending stream of demands on my time.

 The process of bearing and rearing seven children took every ounce of strength, physically and mentally, that I could muster and was truly a full time job. The challenge of providing for just the basic physical needs and medical care of a growing family on one income necessitated that I grow, can, dry and freeze food; sew, mend and alter hand-me-down clothes; and glean what necessities I could from yard sales and thrift stores.  Homemade & made-from-scratch took extra time.  And there was more-- the demands of family had to be balanced with my covenants to serve the Lord in any way I can AND the demands of P.T.A., school volunteering, neighborhood and community, cub scouts, 4-H, children’s sports and activities.  Tasks had to be dove-tailed with caring for children, preparing lessons for church classes or preparing for endless activities.

 I never felt I balanced everything as well as I would have liked but, for me, the key was and is, as it is for dancers, a strong center.  All I do must be shaped by understanding who I am in relation to God; why I am here on earth; and where God has prepared for me to go when the test of mortality ends.   At the very core, I have come to know that God lives and is my Father.  He has sent me to earth to learn by my own experience good from evil and in so doing, to learn to choose the good; grow to become more like him; and help others to return to his presence.  My knowledge of and relationship to God, my Father, is my center.  When my relationship with God, is close and strong, I can balance the demands of life with more precision and calm.  When I am not close to God (it is not He who has moved)--  I struggle more to maintain balance. So the answer to maintaining balance in my life is the same as the answer to all life’s challenges: Always make time to prayerfully ponder the scriptures; feed the mind and spirit with uplifting music and thoughts; and seek to know what the Lord would have me do.  When I am TOO BUSY, even with good and noble work, to heed the Lord’s command to, “BE STILL, and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10)--  my life is out of balance.