The Balance Beam

         Today Robert and I went to Health Works in Tupelo for a birthday party for one of our great nephews.  He is 3 now.  Several children in our extended family turned 3 this year. 
         Anyway, the party room was filled with all sorts of fun things for the kids to do.  The main attraction was a fairly large inflatable bouncy house.  The room also sported a toddler sized slide and basketball goal, three mini trampolines, and several cushioned blocks for stacking and climbing.  
      What caught my attention was - well, I'm not sure what they called it.   I'll call it a balance beam square.  

It was probably 2 feet off the ground - maybe a little more - and the "beams" were about 2 feet wide.  As you can see they were connected by four platforms.  The children could stand there without having to balance before they either got down or continued on around the square.  
    The birthday boy climbed up on one of the corner stations.  It happened to be the same station his older brother (who was walking on the 'beams') was about to approach.  Big brother went on around the little one.  Grayson watched him go, reluctant to follow.  
     Grandpa (my brother in law) stood close by watching all this transpire.  Grayson was about to cry when Grandpa stepped up and offered his hand.  That was all it took.  He smiled and reached for Mike's hand.  Then I noticed Grayson was actually only holding on to his grandpa's pinky finger.  But that was enough to give him the confidence he needed to walk across that beam.  
     I smiled as I watched.  I could not help but think of our Heavenly Father.  We always -  ALWAYS - do better when we hold His hand as we walk this "narrow way."  God is always there for us - always waiting for us to reach out for Him in faith.  
    Life is not always easy.  Being a Christian in this dark old world is not always easy.  Sometimes we have trouble keeping our balance.   We stay SO busy.  We work - go to school - run to and fro.  Our children or grandchildren are involved in all sorts of activities.  We have to keep a calendar updated to remember it all!
     Then there is a household to run.  Laundry, cooking and cleaning have to be done.  Oh yes, and there is a yard to be mowed, animals to feed and the list goes on and on.  Somewhere along the way, we leave God out of it all. 
      It's no surprise we lose our balance sometimes.  It is very easy to do.  When we do though, we become less than what we could be.  We have less energy, become less productive, and our attitude changes.  Everything is off kilter.
     How do we regain that balance and get back to where we need to be?  What can we do?  Turn back to God.  Let Him back in.  Reach for His hand.  He is right there - ready for us to hold on to Him.  
     Put the Heavenly Father back into the daily routine.  Start praying on a more regular basis again.  We can pray as we drive to and from work.  We can pray in the shower or while we brush our teeth.  We don't have to close our eyes to pray.  We really can talk to God anytime and anywhere. 
    Spend time in His word.  God deserves our attention.  He created us.  He is the One who gave us the lives we have.  God sent His Only Son to die for us.  
    Think about this.  Do we want to keep our lives in balance - or get them back in balance?  Do we want to better days?  Do we want strength when we're weary?  Study - find some time to reflect on the scriptures.  It IS that important.  
    What about the kids?  Well how about singing 'Jesus Loves Me' on the way to the ballgame?   And when the game is over and everyone is back in the car, what about a prayer to thank God for keeping everyone safe?  
    We can thank Him (in front of our children) for their good health.  Thank God for giving them good legs to run and play.  It doesn't matter what we pray about or what we thank Him for - just pray and be thankful!  We need to let our children know where our blessings come from!
     Be creative with ways to remember God throughout the day.  I did some of these things while my boys were growing up; but I must admit hindsight is much better than foresight.  I wish I'd thought of some of these other ideas back then.  
     The point is life is infinitely better with God in it! He longs for us to choose a life with Him - a life of obedient faith and bountiful blessings!  He is there watching and waiting - just like Grandpa was with Grayson.  
     So the next time life gets a little off balance.  Check yourself - is something missing?  We need Him.  Reach out and take the Father's hand.  He will be there and He will walk with us every step of the way! 

Christ above all things, 
Robin