Family Vacartion

We just got back from spending a few days in Kansas City. We went to the zoo and Union Station, and spent some time swimming at the hotel pool. This vacation was the first one we went on with just the 4 of us, and it was a lot of fun. The 110 degree heat index at the zoo on Monday was a little crazy, and my TomTom taking us to two Walmarts that were closed was a little silly, but overall we had a good time and we'll even do it again next year!
I've been doing some reflecting on the whole experience, and I've been anticipating the upcoming school year when Isaac starts school, and I am thankful for the milestones we get to experience together. I also saw this morning a special on the Today Show about a family trying to balance sports and family life. This balance is one thing that scares me as our kids grow. How do we find time for family, friends, sports, church, and just being kids? I have no delusions that either of my kids are going pro in any sports, but it seems if I want them to be competent and be able to play even in high school they need to devote their entire lives to sports. Practice, season and out of season games...it seems endless. Now I like sports as much as the next person, but even I see the need for balance. I guess I just worry about striking that delicate balance. Church is important, family time is important, sports participation is important, school work is important...I guess what I'm saying is I'm going to miss the simple life of the biggest worries being the sniffles and which book we're reading before bed time.
I suppose we are not the first parents that struggle with this balance. And I imagine that there is some wisdom to be found about striking a balance in our Christian faith. Jesus doesn't say that we need to cut certain things out of our lives all together, he stresses that we constantly take inventory of the priorities in our lives. It is when those priorities get out of whack we get in trouble. It is when the priorities get out of order we begin to feel like life gets to be too much. When we push our faith life to the rear for an extended period of time we get lost in the rat race and we lose touch with our anchor. The one thing that helps me face these increasingly busy times is the knowledge that my family will be anchored by our faith. We will participate in other activities, but the balance will be maintained. I'm not too naive, I know that there will be times when the scale won't be perfectly balanced, but in the grand scheme of things it will weigh out more evenly. I think if we keep that in mind...that our faith life is our highest priority, then we can run the race without getting lost. I guess we'll see!