Balance
by Carole Lewis, National Director of First Place

Take a look beyond this day or this hour and look at the overall picture of your health, emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally. How do you measure up to your own expectations? More importantly, how do you evaluate yourself compared to God's standard?

Everyone has a lifetime of habits, which compose who we are as people. For most of us, we are lazy when it comes to using our mind. We only use a fraction of our mental capacities. Mental growth can have a profound influence on how successfully we handle the complexities of life. Some say, "The battle is won or lost in the mind."

Each of us longs to attain balance in our emotional life. A few fortunate people have found this balance because they come from stable, loving families; however, when we face times of stress, loneliness, boredom, anger, or even joy and celebration, we automatically revert to our old habits.

Within First Place, we constantly seek balance in life. The more evenly we manage to balance the four areas of life, we find our relationships in the workplace and with family bring us joy and peace rather than stress. When I choose to honor God with my body by eating healthy foods, exercising, and reading and studying my Bible, I find that my life takes on a beautiful balance.

From my years in First Place, I have heard many weight-loss testimonies. In each case, the person is quick to say that the weight loss is great, but the spiritual changes are greater. God created us to bring honor and glory to Him. Until we fulfill our destiny, we can never live a balanced life.

Richard Chenevix Trench, in Leaves of Gold, said, "None but God can satisfy the longing of the immortal soul; as the heart was made for Him, He only can fill it."