'To Bless All Mankind' February 29, 2016 Issue

Balancing act: Finding a successful work-life balance

Ingrid Peschke

Adapted from an article published in The Christian Science Monitor, December 4, 2015.

A Monitor editorial addressing a new generation of women in the workplace (see facing page) cites that “chief among [women’s concerns] was how to maintain a successful work-life balance.” This lines up with recent figures from the Pew Research Center, which claims that in nearly half of two-parent households in the United States both mom and dad work full time.

Many dual-income households struggle to find a solution for a proper work-life balance and quality care for children. In our family’s case, I went back to work over a decade ago when our youngest was just two years old. Soon the economics of commuting as well as paying for child care for our three children became a clear-eyed reality for my husband and me. As much as I loved my job, I also missed being home for the family.

I realized I wouldn’t be as happy or effective at work if I couldn’t also be a hands-on parent, so I prayed about this dilemma to see if my desire was in the right place. Mary Baker Eddy writes: “Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 1). It came to me that I didn’t have to perceive this as a conflict of interests between a fulfilling career and family life. Accepting good and bad as a package deal seemed all wrong.

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