The "Balanced" Life--How can this BE?

People talk about having a "balanced" life. Like life is a checking account.

One of my pastors once presented a very good class on "balance". He showed a slide as the first image: a couple of circus gymnasts in an incredibly contorted, but *balanced* pose. His point was that that "balance" can be sustained only for a short time--about as long as the gymnasts could be expected to remain "balanced".

The rest of the class dealt with living not a balanced life, but a rhythmic life--living into the *rhythms* that God has given us--the day, the week, the seasons and the year. He extended it to the Seasons of Years.

A different pastor in the same church spoke about how there is no "retirement" in Scripture--no sitting down and rocking in the chair; there is always something we can and need to do in each season. This is why grandparents "have time" for the grandkids--but mom is always busy. It's the season.

He pointed out that whatever you say is important to you must be done in the cycle of the week. If it is not done in the course of the week, it isn't that important. Therefore, if you want to BE a writer, for example, in the course of a week, you must write. He pointed out that the modern American view is that you must do these things in a DAY, but that this has made is frenetic and inattentive to the things that must be done in a day, which are work, rest, and pray.

This has been a focusing thought for me, which is either a warning or an encouragement to the rest of you.