I am fascinated by jugglers. They usually begin with two or three balls and then add more and more balls until the balls are just a blur. I have seen people juggle chain saws, fruit, and any number of other unique items. I truly don’t think I am that focused, so I would probably get hurt doing this activity. Just sayin’….
Juggling life is something that is not just an “activity”, but is required to survive busy schedules and the demand of everyday life. In our modern day, we juggle jobs, school, homes, relationships, kids’ activities, church, personal health, etc. How do we do it?! Some of us have no problem with “keeping all the balls in the air”, while others of us get overwhelmed and sometimes just give up. Which best sounds like you?
Sometimes a crisis shifts life far one way and the rest of our “balls of life” get put aside. A health issue, divorce, death of a loved one, etc. can make us stop, take our eyes off all we are juggling and reassess. “What is the most important use of my time? How much can I handle? How do I get balance back into my life?”
Here’s an exercise we can all do to see where we put our time, and figure out which “balls” we can drop. Take a piece of paper and write down all you do during a week. Yikes! Do we have enough paper and ink to do this? Try it.
Write down the meetings, meals, errands, bills to pay, kids’ activities (all of them), phone calls, obligations to extended family and church, personal appointments, household chores, marriage stuff, parent stuff, quite times (if you have them) and anything else that fills your week. Now, prioritize them by numbering them 1- most important to 10-least important. Are you trying to juggle too much? Which activities can you let go of? Is all this pressure taking away your joy and making you cranky? What would people in your life say? Stop!
Take the time to evaluate and work toward more peace in your life. “Seek peace and pursue it.” Psalms “A heart at peace give life to the body.” Proverbs
How about taking a mini-vacay, if you can, and breathe deep so you can find some peace today? Drop as many “balls of life” as you can and enjoy.