You might have heard the angry protests. “Don’t tell girls to be modest. That teaches them to be ashamed of their femininity!”

To those of us who value modesty, this sounds absurd. But more often than not, this messaging comes from men and women who were raised with modesty. So what gives?

It’s a classic example of a pendulum swing, or a move from one ditch to the other. We humans are really good at this zig-zagging, and not so good at moderation, so the pattern shows up over and over and over. We get a little carried away on a certain subject, until we take it to an extreme, or overemphasize the wrong parts. Then somewhere along the way, we recognize our error. In an attempt to correct the error, we move as far away from it as possible.

Unfortunately, moving from one opposite to another usually moves us from one ditch…into the other ditch. It isn’t a nice, balanced middle.

When I talk about being well balanced, that’s one of the principles I have in mind. But there’s another type of balance, too.

The Juggling Act

You and I both know there are a lot of tasks involved in managing a home. There are numerous things we’re called to steward well: People. Time. Energy. Finances. Skills. Health. And on it goes.

Often, these values are competing priorities, like when buying organic is better for health but worse for the budget, or cloth diapers are gentler on the budget but more demanding of your time.

Every woman is called upon to constantly balance (and rebalance!) all of these factors as she makes choices in her day-to-day life.  We’re perpetually juggling priorities.

As I mentioned in my discussion of authenticity, everyone’s balance won’t look the same. (Your own balance might not even look the same next year as it does this year.) But the pursuit of this balance is an integral part of managing a home. (This is what my former tagline referred to as “holistic” – all of the parts working together as an integrated whole.)

What have you found to be the biggest challenges to balance in your life and home?