Three Thoughts on Balancing Relationships & To-Do Lists – Part One

Do you ever feel like you’re on a see-saw of choosing between relationships or chores? Work and people? As an unmarried woman in her mid-twenties, I never would have foreseen this as a problem. Yet, if there was one struggle I’ve battled more in navigating young adulthood, it would be this very one. Do I spend this Saturday catching up on researching a work project or go on a road trip with my brother? Should I spend the afternoon mowing the jungle – uh, yard or call a long-distance friend? Whew, I have 30 unexpected minutes: should I fold laundry or write a note of encouragement to a Titus 2 mentor?

And if I struggle with this as a single woman, without the special dimension of husband and children, I can only imagine how much more intense this battle is for wives and mothers. So, what am I, as a young, unmarried woman, doing writing about choosing between relationships and productivity? Because I am a woman and, like every woman, I’ve been commanded by God to “love one another as I have loved you.” Because I am a daughter and sister, and desire my family to know I love them with all my heart. Because I am a friend and I want my friends to know I cherish each one for the special person she is in my life. Because I am part of Christ’s Bride and know my fellow believers are affected by my diligence in ministry. Because I am a disciple of Jesus and cannot say I love Him if I love not my brother. This question of how to prioritize these important relationships, without being negligent of God’s command to labor, is vastly important for each season of life, be it singleness or marriage, ministry or children.

So, what can we do? Are we doomed to daily live in tension, wondering if we are truly making the best choice? First, I hope we (myself, most of all) understand we can’t even begin to get near an answer without the Spirit of truth to guide us. One of the best time management advices I have ever heard came from a mature friend and mother of twelve who said, “You must seek the Holy Spirit every day for the balance He would have you strike for that day.” Only when we grasp that our time, relationships, and even to-do lists are His, not ours, will we have the heart to seek God’s wisdom as His stewards.

Kenzi Knapp is a follower of Christ, homeschool graduate and student of history. A fourth generation Missourian she enjoys writing about daily life enrolled in Gods great course of faith and His story throughout the ages at her blog, Honey Rock Hills.