Striving for balance (on the Wii and in life)

One of my constant struggles is to maintain balance in my life.

Between work and family time. Between church volunteer time and personal time. Between healthy food choices and those delicious chocolate chip cookies that call to me from the kitchen counter. Between making time to go to the gym and walk an hour on the treadmill and spending that hour getting caught up on e-mail or other work at the office.

So it's probably not surprising that as I was standing on the Wii balance board in front of our TV over the weekend, my thoughts turned to more than just successfully navigating the Wii Fit Plus downhill ski slalom course.

Or finding the sweet spot during the daily fitness test that says I am perfectly balanced between my left and right leg and not walking in circles.

But what's the magic answer? Is there one?

Surprisingly, my Bible's concordance doesn't include the word "balance." Type "finding life balance" into Google, though, and you come up with 10,200,000 results, including websites offering "9 tips to help you live the life you desire," "5 Tips for Better Work-Life Balance" and "12 Rules to Find Balance in Your Life."

So obviously I'm not the only one who struggles with this problem.

The first list, which comes from the iVillage Pregnancy & Parenting website, includes the following summary of the problem:

"Juggling several roles is so common today. We are tired and often seem to be seeking a state of balance that is just out of our reach. Juliet Schor, author of 'The Overworked American' and a Harvard economist, reminds us that, 'the typical family puts in a thousand more hours a year today than they were 25 years ago.' Over eight million of us hold down two or more jobs. Work takes up so much of our lives. Working mothers seem to bear the brunt. They spend an average of almost two hours more each weekday and three hours more on weekends than their partners do in caring for their children and the house. Overworked? No wonder it seems so difficult to find a balance!"

The site's tips, by the way, are these:

1. De-stress.
2. Simplify.
3. Play.
4. Share the load.
5. Slow down!
6. Nurture yourself.
7. Stop procrastinating.
8. Focus on the positive.
9. Take charge!

Some good advice, but not as simple as this list may seem on the surface, right? Easier said than done.

And yet as difficult as it may be for me, my wife and our family, I can't help but think it's infinitely worse for single parents, those living in poverty, those caring for ailing parents while keeping their own families going, etc.

So my prayer today is two-fold: That, Lord, you continue to work with me to show me the way to a more healthy life balance. But that you especially be with those who need your presence in this regard even more than I do. (For example: The families of those missing or killed by the earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan. Where's the balance for those people right now? It makes my challenges pale by comparison. Since most of us can't be there in person to help out right now, let's pray and be thankful that He is and always will be. And let's do whatever we can. Amen.)