So many things on which I have been wanting to write! A close friend of mine is in a clinic for 8 weeks, getting herself back into balance from an eating disorder and exercise addiction. I see so many others struggling with various things through posts on Facebook and personal messages. Just this morning I was in a discussion on contemplating our lives about directions to go in with life and feelings about that. Thoughts and feelings were voiced about working hard to get somewhere only to lose it and feel like life has gone in reverse. Others talk about having so many hard things to get through and believing God has put roadblocks up. Maybe God hasn’t done that at all. Maybe WE have done that to ourselves. People are always in a hurry, trying to do too much with not enough time, then wondering why we are “stressed” and taking pills to get through the day. Tired constantly, not enough sleep, running all the time and blaming it all on circumstances instead of ourselves who have done it to ourselves.
Balance seems to be an unknown concept these days. I remember years ago taking Tae Kwon Do from Grandmaster Kang here in Tulsa and hearing him always stressing “balance” in our forms, etc. But he was also teaching it to be part of our lives. BALANCE. Sometimes we need to remember that less is more. More is not always better. We have gotten away from this and we keep digging ourselves into a hole deeper and deeper until it falls in on us and we crack. Then we blame it on stress when in reality WE are our own stress but refuse to see that and do anything about it. Some just don’t know when to stop. Breathe and take some time out. We have ourselves convinced that if we GO GO GO we will improve and somehow prove to ourselves and others that we are super humans. We aren’t!
Addiction and obsession CAN happen with good things and often does. When we feel the need or compulsion to do something and are unable to stop doing it then we have a problem. WE are no longer in control. Balance is needed in every area of life for us to be healthy; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Sometimes we need help doing this! It is ok to ask someone, a friend, a family member, even a professional. But most won’t, and they will go on as if everything is ok when it isn’t. Life isn’t always a joy and was never promised to be. But we plug along and try to help others as they also help us. Even a rose garden has thorns.
Some great stories are found in the Old Testament. Among those we read of Jacob. As Jacob our journey in life can be lonely, but he remembered his dream in Gen. 28. As he goes on his journey he didn’t have GPS or maps as we do today, he just had to go along and ask as he went to get where he was going. He also had no idea what would happen to him along the way as he went several hundred miles to the home of cousins. As we go through life we have NO idea about tomorrow. As much as we like to think we can plan our future and do it just the way we planned, life doesn’t quite work that way. We take each day as it comes and we work with it. But we are not alone, no matter how quiet things seem at the time. Jacob didn’t just sail through life on still water. Sometime he was in the shadows and we never see too well in the shadows. Out sight becomes muddled.
Work for balance in your life. Relax, breathe, take a walk, watch a movie, spend time with friends without always having to be doing something. Spend time ALONE. (Gasp!) Don’t always be pushing towards something, get off your routine. Take a time out. Life becomes more refreshing this way and much more enjoyable. My friend will be out in about 6 weeks and hopefully will see her life in a different way. Not everything we do has to be a routine, not everything is urgent and not everything is a life or death matter. We don’t always have to be busy. Most of the time the voice of God to us is not in the big things, it isn’t in the flashy things. What do you do AFTER the fireworks are over and all the smoke excitement is gone? Maybe we are expecting God in the wrong places, as did Elijah.
The LORD said, (*to Elijah) Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. – 1 Kings 19.11-13a
Always friendly, outgoing with such a party spirit. I didn’t know her nearly as well as her closest friends, who are all grieving and posting photos of her on Facebook. I knew her well enough to know she enjoyed life, family and her friends. She loved having her picture taken!! :) That I DO know! Pulling up some photos I had of her and posting them to share with others last night was a little emotional, but was worth seeing her smiling face again! I and others will always remember her in that way. Her Facebook wall has been full of love shared since yesterday. It is quite something to see all on its own!
