Balance Beam by Lori Hadorn-Disselkamp

Wavering a bit, concentrating intensely, one foot placed methodically in front of the other, arms extended to gain balance we walk that balance beam daily. How many different balance beams do we walk in this life?

We walk the balance beam between work and our family life, being involved but not overly involved with Church and school, being a friend as a parent but also the parent role of disciplining our children, being able to recognize wrong doings but still not judging the person and loving them instead. Our lives our made up of thousands of choices we make every moment of everyday. Sometimes we choose poorly when we decide to be so involved at school that we don’t spend as much time with our children, when that was the reason for the involvement. Sometimes we choose well when we get up from our desks at work and say it’s time for my family and we go home.  Sometimes we don’t choose and just waver with our arms extended waiting to put our foot down in the correct spot so we don’t slip but we can’t figure out the correct spot.

In all times if we slow down and consciously think before we make a choice the decision is for the most part is better. Many choices are made instantaneously, go through the green light, wake the kids and feed them breakfast, work to the best of my ability, be a good parent and do my best in all things in this life. Every so often we run into choices that are gray, we just cannot say yes or no very quickly nor should we. These are times in which we should reflect more deeply, pray, and often step away from the choice before we decide. It is ok to step away from a situation or just not answer quickly or sometimes not answer at all. We live life at such a high speed that often those difficult decisions are made with haste and the results are often negative. We don’t have to live on autopilot; we can slow down and pause in the moment for clarity. Do you have to side with people that hate others because they invite you to hate others or can you turn away from the hate? Saying no to a request of a commitment you know will take you away from family is not wrong; you must weigh what you are able to do and what you should do for your family.

We need to all slow down and think about the choices before placing our foot down, believe in the step you are taking, stand firm when you have put your foot down. The balance beams in life are unending but you don’t have to race across them concentrate and go slowly so you make the choices that are good, pure and true in your life.



Copyright 2010 Lori Hadorn-Disselkamp