Three Ingredients for a Well-Ordered Life

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I was thinking last night about how very much of a mental battle it is to faithfully manage all the resources God has given me.

Sometimes I’m over-focused. I’m always planning my next task and feeling anxious. And then other times I’m discouraged, usually as a result of laziness, and I feel hopeless that I’ll get a handle on things again.

I’ve been finding my happy medium more lately, and I was thinking about what components I need to grow in so I can stay in a healthy place.

1. Wisdom – both practical and spiritual. Practical wisdom involves systems and organization and routines, but the heart of it is spiritual wisdom, knowing when to work and when to rest, and desiring to glorify God and not indulge my flesh.

2. Diligence. There’s no way around it; nurturing a family and home and church life and other relationships requires commitment, perseverance, and hard work.

3. Trust. The only way to escape anxious striving is to lay down control in my heart and know that the Lord arranges my circumstances and all I can do is be faithful by His grace moment by moment.

I have a lot of growing to do in each of these areas, but I am going to try to remember these words to help myself find balance.