The Work-Life-Faith Balance

Flexibility and Humility

I’m a goal-setter by nature. I love working toward something and tracking my progress along the way. But in navigating the many seasons of life and work, I’ve learned to retain a certain amount of flexibility. If you are too locked in to one goal or path, you won’t be able to adjust course when necessary.

Pride, and the weight of expectations, can also get in the way. We all have an innate desire to be well thought of. It feels good to get recognition for hard work. And many working women—myself included—feel special pressure to prove ourselves and our commitment at work, not just once but over and over again. If you find yourself clinging to a particular job or job path primarily because of how it looks or what other people would say, then it may be time to take a step back and reassess your motives.

Courage (and Freedom) to Take a Different Path

When my oldest son was in high school, we went through several very rough years together. At first it seemed like pretty normal grumpy teenage rebellion. And then came the day when he got arrested. Getting that phone call rocked my faithful Christian, professionally successful world. My career was blooming, I had established myself as a leader in my company, I was serving in an executive role, and our business was growing fast. From a professional standpoint, it was time to push forward. But after some prayerful, tearful nights, I did the opposite. I went to my boss at CBRE, Mike Lafitte, and explained what was happening with my son. Then I asked for something crazy: “I need to leave at 2:00 every day in order to pick my son up from school and be with him at home. I need to do that for at least six months, and for as long as it takes to get him back on track.”

In that moment, in Mike's office, I knew full well I was putting my career on the line. Our conversation could easily have led to my resignation, but it didn’t. He backed me up, and I started leaving the office at 2:00, working from home part time and pouring into my son. When summer came, I took a full-on 10-week sabbatical. Today, we cheerfully refer to that time as “Mom’s boot camp.”

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