Balance

Life is like a teeter-totter. Wait!  Let me rephrase that!      

Life is like a tightrope. Hmmm... Okay, no, I don't think that's right either...

Life is like a balance beam? Now, that I've thought it out... ;0)

 I think life is like all three.

Sometimes life is like a teeter-totter, going crazy with highs and lows and not much time in between. Think it has something to do with being an adolescent! ;)

Life is sometimes like a tightrope, walking along 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch, sweating bullets and hoping to have firm footing very soon. I'm quite sure parenting is much of the time on the tight rope! 

Life seeming like a balance beam has to be somewhere in the middle of these two. There isn't the up and down of a teeter-totter on a balance beam unless its a controlled, planned movement of a leap or a flip. Moving along on a balance beam goes much faster than a tightrope and it's not quite as nerve-wracking.

Honestly, I think I need all three. Now, I know some may disagree with that statement because not everyone enjoys the highs and lows that come with a teeter-totter. Also, some folks might not care too much for the tension that would come with a tight rope walk - too much stress! ;) Perhaps even still, someone might consider a balance beam too boring. However, I truly believe God allows all three times in my life to truly teach me, to mold me, to grow me.

During my teeter-totter years (in my teens and early 20's), I learned to hang on tight to the Lord. He was the only steady and strong force in my life during those years. Granted, I did have a lot of fun and those highs were so exhilarating! However, the lows can be debilitating and I had to learn to hold on to my faith in God's Word to keep me from flying off the teeter-totter that made up my life.

Ahhh, the tight rope! I'm in the midst of a tight rope walk right now. You see, I'm right smack in the middle of my parenting journey. I can see the "light at the end of the tunnel" so to speak as I get glimpses here and there of who my beautiful girls will most likely be when they are grown, but I find myself biting my lip when it comes to decisions that affect my girls. The responsibility of teaching and training them isn't something I take lightly and it causes me to sweat bullets on a regular basis! ;0) I've learned though to use the Word of God as my balancing pole. It pulls me back from the right or left whenever my own judgment cannot be trusted to make a step in the forward direction.

Now, I must admit I feel I haven't had my fair share of time on the balance beam! Gonna have to have a talk with the Lord about that one! ;0) Despite my best efforts to control and plan every move me and everyone else ;) makes, it just doesn't work out quite as fluidly and gracefully as I see others manage. If I had to point to a time for this apparatus of life, I guess it would be when I accepted Jesus as my Savior - smoothest leap and land I've ever made. It's easy to grasp the fact that you need a Savior when you have as big a mouth as I do! ;) So, in considering this passage of Scripture...

"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,  for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose."  Philippians 2:12-13

It seems to me the teeter-totter and the tight rope times are part of the whole "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" in my opinion. I need these times to keep me humble, remind me who is really in charge and challenge me to be ready for whatever might come my direction. The only constant is God and His Word and as long as I hold on and allow them to balance me, I'll come away from these contraptions of my life's journey learning valuable lessons and...hopefully... not too many bumps and bruises! ;)