From, Casey at Home

For a long time, I thought the goal was balance.

Balance at work. Balance at home. Balance in motherhood, marriage, friendships, homemaking, faith, health, and every other responsibility that seemed to accumulate in adulthood.

I thought if I could just find the perfect routine, perfect planner, morning schedule, etc., that surely everything would finally click into place. But now I realize true balance isn’t exactly the goal I should be striving for.

Because if you’re a working mom, you already know that most days don’t feel balanced. Some days, work requires more of you. Some days, your baby has a cold and needs extra cuddles. Some days, the gets the best of you. Some days, dinner is homemade while others, it’s something you picked up on the way home.

Life has seasons, and seasons are rarely balanced the same way. What I’ve been pursuing instead is rhythm.

Not a perfectly color-coded routine (although that helps) or life where every category receives equal attention every day. Just a gentle rhythm that helps me faithfully care for the things God has entrusted to me.

Ecclesiates Chapter 3 speaks to this, in a way. Eccelsiastes 3:1 says “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:”

Building off of this, we can plainly assume there can be a rhythm for our lives that recognizes there is a time for work and a time for home.

As a working mom, there are days when I leave the house before the sun is fully up, spend the day at my desk, pick up my baby from daycare, come home, make dinner, tidy the house, and fall into bed exhausted. Ordinary enough, but these ordinary moments make up the majority of our lives.

We’ve become so accustomed to celebrating big milestones that we sometimes overlook the consistent faithfulness required to show up day after day.

I’m learning that a successful day doesn’t necessarily mean I accomplished everything on my to-do list. Sometimes a successful day simply means I did the next right thing. I cared for my family, I cared for the hearts of others, I fulfilled my responsibilities, and I sought to honor God in the work He placed before me.

And this is true balance. And it feels far more sustainable than chasing perfection.

So if you’re a working mom who also loves homemaking, if you’re trying to build a meaningful home while also contributing outside of it, I hope you’ll know this:

You do not have to choose between being productive and being nurturing. You do not have to master every area of life simultaneously. You simply need to be faithful where God has placed you today.

Tomorrow will have its own responsibilities. Today, do the next thing with diligence and gratitude.

That is the kind of rhythm I’m pursuing.