Balance Used to Wear Me Down
If I’m honest, it really has taunted me for years! Even before having children, it seemed like the answer to so many issues was, “You just have to find BALANCE!” It used to frustrate me because this beautiful middle ground always alluded me. I have a tendency, as many do, to find myself too far one direction or another.
Think about how many things need balance in your life… your diet, your schedule, and your finances, just to name a few. In parenting, we find ourselves needing that same balance. Our children need to be presented with truth that’s full of grace. We are called to discipline and be gentle in doing so. We are to protect our kids, while also giving them freedoms to explore their world. As our children age, they should grow in responsibility, but also in privilege.
Balance is the word that I often don’t want to be the answer, yet, it almost always is. And it’s the right answer because it pushes me back to the Lord. He is the only one that has the perfect balance. We are surrounded by reminders of it every day. All we need do is open our eyes to His extraordinary design of earth to catch a glimpse of it. The rotation of our planet that gives us both day and night. The balance of each season, one following another, bringing us every type of climate change (well, maybe except for Texas). And even the balance of death and new life. He is the master of balance and it is to Him that we should turn when our family dynamics feel off-kilter.
Isaiah 40:12 questions, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hands marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?” We tend to run to podcasts, parenting books, friends or mentors when the One that has this balance thing all figured out is wooing us to Himself. The more time we spend with our Father, the more we will resemble Him. His truth will help direct us when we find ourselves too far one direction or another. Rather than worrying if you’re approaching parenting with the right balance, rest in the truth that “your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21)