Balance!

Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He is right there with you. He won’t let you down, He won’t leave you. Deuteronomy 31:6 The Message

A few years ago when I was obligated to begin the Medicare Wellness Check assessments, I was shocked by the seemingly insignificant things I was asked to do. The protocol asks one to do things like, get up out of a chair without assistance, draw a clock and put a given time on it, and remember three words. I had no problem getting out of a chair, and because I’m a former kindergarten teacher, I was able to draw what was, in my opinion, a perfect clock! The three words are given early on in the assessment, then the nurse sneaks around and asks that they be repeated after a lengthy time. I was relieved to get that one out of the way!

Recently, however, the protocol has changed for our age group. They no longer ask us to draw a clock, (which was my personal best),now, the questions are more pointed. Questions such as: Have you fallen lately? Are you afraid of falling? Do you sometimes feel like you are going to fall? These questions really hit home because I know so many people who have fallen and sustained injuries.

These occurrences sent me on a quest to improve my balance as I have deduced that this is the root of all the falling that’s going on! Balance is defined as an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady. Balance is a must in our day to day lives.

In order to obtain some tips, I began to watch the trainers who work at our gym. While biking, I watched a trainer with an elderly gentleman. She had him stand with his feet together, put his hands behind his back, and slowly lift one leg and put it in front of the other. This isn’t as easy as it might seem, and I worried that the man would fall, but then I noticed that the trainer was taking every step behind him to catch him if he should falter. It reminded me of a quote, “Faith is about taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” He had faith in his trainer, and she was there for him!

If you’ve ever watched a toddler walk with their parents or another adult, you will notice that they love to toddle ahead of the adults. The thing is, they don’t go far before they stop and look back because they want to be assured of the presence of the parents behind them in case they should lose their balance and fall.

This is a perfect analogy of the way we are with God and our Christian walk. We sometimes like to run on ahead of His plan for our lives, and before we know it, we have lost our balance and faltered. Jesus is like the parent who walks behind us and beside us to offer us three things we need. First, He offers us assurance. He gives us the calm assurance that no matter what happens, we can trust Him to be there.

Next, He gives us comfort. Just like the toddler, when we lose our balance, fall, and are hurt, there’s nothing like the open arms of a parent to soothe and make it all better. Jesus is that parent for all of us.

Finally, He gives us protection. Just like Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednigo in the fiery furnace and Daniel in the lion’s den, God offers us protection from all the things in life that would threaten us or throw us off balance.

This week as we work on our balance, remember that God is there to offer us assurance, comfort, and protection. Mary G. Brainard put t well when she said, I would rather walk with God in the dark than by myself in the light.