Balance

The baby has crawled for a while and even knows how to stand. She takes her first steps and plops to the ground. She lost her balance. The running back is heading to the goal line when he is blindsided by a linebacker charging at full speed. He hits the turf hard. He lost his balance. The bartender calls a cab. The middle-aged man stumbles between the door of the bar and the door of the car. He lost his balance.

People lose their balance all the time. Inexperience like the baby. Outside forces like the running back. Poor choices like the guy at the bar.

Balance is something some of us struggle with all of the time and all of us struggle with some of the time.

• We don’t have enough money at the end of the month to pay our bills. We keep going a little further into debt.
• We don’t have enough time during the week to spend time with the people we want to see or to do the things we want to do.
• Stress from various areas of life prevents us from enjoying life and sleeping. It is taking a toll on our physical health.
• We carry heavy burdens from the past that fill our present lives with regret and guilt.
• We are constantly connected to technology and disconnected from life.
• We are unable to say “no” to less important things and people so that we can say “yes” to more important things and people.
• We go through the motions of the day on life’s terms and put our priorities and dreams on hold.

We live lives full of anxiety, clutter, and demands. God’s plan is that our lives are full of purpose, focus, and grace. A disconnect occurs between who we are and who we are created to be.

Today we start a new series: Undaunted. Moving toward more balance in life is a very daunting task for many of us. We won’t get there or even start heading there with more judgment or law. We call things like this willpower or force. It will happen because of God’s mercy and love. We call things like this harmony and rhythm.

Balance is God’s idea. It’s not daunting task. It’s grace: learning from inexperience, adapting to outside forces, and forgiveness from mistakes.

Balance allows possibilities to become realities. Balance allows us to learn from the shortcomings of our past while simultaneously putting the past behind us. And balance resurrects us from who we are to who God wants us to be.

If you don’t have a word yet for 2014, balance may be the word for you:

Balance.

I will move toward balance in 2014.

            More balanced because of a growing relationship with God.

            More balanced because of life-giving relationships with others.

            More balanced by saying “no” to unimportant things.

            More balanced by saying “yes” to essential things.

            More balanced by resting and taking care of myself.

            More balanced by embracing and giving forgiveness and grace.

            More balanced by practicing thankfulness.

            More balanced by defining and living out my priorities and dreams.

Balance can be daunting, but as you can see it can also be one heck of a word.

The best is yet to come…

Craig