Balancing Act

 

I have been feeling pretty overwhelmed lately like I’m sure most of us are. Life feels like a constant juggle right now. You want to stay safe, yet still do good in school and work, while still being a good friend, and being there for family. The balance of all the things is harder now than ever. It seems like once you’ve got the hang of balancing all the things you’re juggling, life gets bored and throws it some more objects for you to try and manage. It feels like one wrong move means you come falling down and leave your balancing act laying on the floor. So to say the least, it’s overwhelming.

Today was a low for me in the sense that I felt like I was really caught up in my negative and chaotic emotions. For a while, I sat basking in my exhaustion. Waiting for a little relief from the juggling act. It didn’t hit me until I laid down that I was leaning on myself. I was placing all the weight of my anxieties of the day back on myself and I was exhausted from it. I realized, like so many of us, I was trying to carry it all. And it was too much to carry alone. I needed to lean not on myself but on the Lord. And in this recognition I remembered a bible verse that I hadn’t thought of in a while. Proverbs 3:5 says “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.” This verse felt like a moment of clarity to me. It felt like peace. It felt like putting down the things I was juggling and acknowledging that I can’t do it all by myself.

 

I don’t know what God is doing with each of our lives. But I know He has a purpose in each of them. And even though I often forget it, I know his understanding is far greater than mine.  I know that if we lean on Him and walk with Him instead of in front, that life will still not be easy but it will be hopeful. Have you ever been giving directions and half way through you realize you have no idea what you’re doing or saying? There’s a moment where all the sudden you’re like, wait, I’m lost. And you desperately look around for clarification. That’s how I picture leaning on your own understanding. You start out confident and ready to go, and then halfway through you need help. But in the directions of life, God is standing next to you, and he knows the way on the path that confuses you. He understands the things we don’t. The things we question and worry about. And he gives us the choice to lean on Him when the path gets hard.

 

The path won’t always be easy. In fact, the path usually throws a lot of stop signs and flat tires in your way. But the path has a purpose and multiple, beautiful stops along the way. I don’t know what you’re juggling right now friend. But I know you are strong and worthy. I know you are doing the best you can. and I know you don’t have to juggle all that stuff alone. Let God walk beside you and not behind you. you’ve got this friend!! 

 

All the love, Annie