Feeling Unbalanced? Tips to Center Your Life in Christ

Jack Fortin, author of The Centered Life, refutes the idea proposed by Stephen Covey and others that we can live a life of balance in today’s fragmented world. “The idea of a balanced life is a myth,” says Fortin. “Elements of our lives rarely stay in balance. That leads to frustration and self absorption.” Fortin is executive director of the Center for Lifelong Learning at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., and he leads the seminary’s ecumenical Centered Life® initiative.

The answer to overcoming a life that feels fragmented, isolated and overwhelming is not about living a different life, it is about living life differently says Fortin. He proposes that living out your calling in life is the key to living a centered life that draws together all aspects of your life, including faith in God, family and work. He identifies four ways that Christians can center their lives in Christ:

1. Think about what God is up to in every aspect of your life. (In what unlikely places and people have you experienced God’s presence?)
   
   
2. Realize that God created you with specific gifts and purposes. (What are you passionate about? That’s often where God is already at work.)
   
   
3. Know how God is calling you to love and serve others in your workplace, home and community.
   
   
4. Find a community of faith to nurture and support you.

How centered is your life? Take the free quiz.