For those who’ve been following my chronicles of adventures the past few months, you’re aware of how tumultuous times have been.  From the highs of discovering we are expecting our third child, to the lows of losing a childhood friend. From the highs of purchasing a new home, to the emotional difficulties of leaving a former career home. From my oldest daughter preparing to enter a new public school, to our close friends preparing to move to another state. From standing beside one of my best friends on a beach in Mexico celebrating his entry into marriage, to leaving a church that we’ve called home for well over a decade.  Yes there have been tough moments, but there have also been joyous occasions worth celebrating.  All the while during this season of transition has remained a few constants: my family and my faith. Even when I haven’t known exactly what was going to happen next, even when it seemed like we were simply waiting for the other shoe to drop of more bad news, we’ve had each other and our faith in a God that loves us and is invested in what happens in our lives.  This is what has carried me from one place to the next.

The other day, a friend asked me how do I balance everything in my life given my varied pursuits.  First, I responded, I don’t necessarily believe in balance as a goal.  Instead, I believe that as long as I’m pursuing alignment of my purpose, passions, and strengths, then that’ll lead to healthy life outcomes.  Second, and this is my real secret, I daily remind myself through morning reflection and prayer what this journey is all about.  Here’s the scripture that I’ve been meditating on recently.  It’s definitely been a blessing for me, and helped me to find my place of peace in this season.

Matthew 6 (Message Translation)

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers- most of which are never even seen- don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?  What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving.  People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.  Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God provisions.  Don’t worry about missing out.  You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.  Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.  God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

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