The friend that challenged me to define myself with one word claimed the word he wished defined him, was "balanced". At the time, I really couldn't see the charm in that, because I took great pleasure in being unbalanced. To me, living with the bubble in the middle seemed a bit normal, ordinary, boring, mundane, etc. What I hadn't really thought through, however, was that a person could be strange and balanced all at the same time. And if you knew my friend, you'd wonder why that hadn't occured to me earlier in the game. (He's reading this, I'm sure, and nodding his head at the rubber candy-butt chicken on his desk....)
This week, I'd give my sister's left arm to have a little balance.
I got to go to church, last Sunday, for the first time in about 6 weeks! We've been sick, had storms, freezing calves, sick again, etc., but finally, I just threw the kids in the car and took off. (We didn't see another car for 65 miles, on the 83 mile trip. And because the kid were fighting, I made them listen to Josh Groban warble Italian arias all the way...) During the songs, I cried, because I was just so glad to be there!
This week, I have CUPS, bookclub, Easter and a school board meeting coming up. I feel the bubble sliding to one end!
I need to get my lettuce and peas planted, and all the dead sunflowers and sundry plants cleaned up, and the broken toys burned, surrepticiously. There goes the bubble, to the other end!
I'm 15 weeks behind, in a 12 week Beth Moore Bible study. Now, how does THAT happen? Oops! Watch the bubble shift....
I don't know where MY rubber candy-butt chicken is....well, I guess the bubble has to stop somewhere.
The lesson I'm slowly learning is that sometimes strange people should work more on being balanced, rather than scoff those who do it well. And God desires that I have a good balance in my life, I know that from reading His word. My mission this week is to take each day, as it rises fresh from the calm night, and look to see how I can do my best, without beating myself or anyone else up in the process. My focus will be less on individualism and more on teamwork. And I'll look in the playbook and listen to the Coach.
Do you struggle with balance?
3 comments:
You know, that has been one of my keywords for some time now. I think that I would say that it's a word I can sometimes be described by, but not something that is a constant in my life. I find that sometimes, because of where we live, the social part is the part that is the most out of whack. I mean a girl's got to take her outings when she can get them, even if that means everything happens all at once!! Sometimes, a lack of balance is essential though. Because if life never gets out of balance we lose our perspective on the way it should be, and we don't appreciate things when they do fall into a rhythm. And besides. No one is ever perfectly in balance. That would be, well, unbalanced!
Balanced....hmmm, how about checking your friend's blog when I'm pooper scooping?! :)
You are just too, too cute!
The longer I live and attempt to bring "balance" into my life, the more unbalanced it seems to become. That's because I am trying to do it myself, rather than giving into what ever God brings my way. It does take discernment, though, to know what is a distraction and my own inclinations and what is from God. That's why abiding is so, so important. On most days, I talk to God all day long and it's relatively smooth sailing, but there are seasons that I get caught up in the crashing waves and struggle to stay afloat. My first clue that I'm about to go under is when I wake up in the morning in a panic - wondering where I am supposed to be and I'm snapping at my family because I'm in a hurry.
By the way, I've been working on a much shorter Beth Moore study for almost a year now. =)
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