Steady.....steady

35 years (and well over 100 pounds ago) I used to take dance and gymnastics classes. I wore little pink or black leotards with white tights and pink ballet slippers. I was adorable and I was pretty good. As a gymnast I really had a bright future ahead of me but alas it wasn't to be.

I loved gymnastic class though. I could do handstands, headstands, cartwheels, round-offs, roll-overs, flips and back bends. I was even getting pretty good on the uneven bars but the one piece of equipment that just had me scared out of my wits was the balance beam. The balance beam is a piece of wood 16' long and 4" wide and sits about 4' off of the ground. It was a very intimidating slab of wood. I mean honestly, I could fall off and break my neck!
But they didn't just throw me right up there on that 4' monster. They started us off with a low beam that sat just a few inches off the ground. Can I be honest and tell you that it was still very intimidating, even though it was down on the floor! It was soooo narrow. But the coach used to hold our feet and teach us how to walk....one foot in front of the other...slow and steady at first just to get us used to it.

"Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps" Psalm 85:13

But my biggest problem with the beam was that it was only 4" wide. That's about the width of the average foot. That means I couldn't stand planted with my feet side by side. It had to be one foot in front of the other. I was wobbly and unsteady at first. But then I learned that I had to use my whole body to keep my balance. My arms and my head where just as important as my feet. I had to keep my arms outstretched in order to keep my balance. I had to keep my head aligned with my body. Where my head went, my feet would follow. I had to keep my eyes focused ahead of me - I could not look at my feet or I would surely fall.

Did you know that God has a purpose and a plan for our lives? So if there's a plan then He has already thought through what we need and how we need it. He isn't going to just throw us up on the 4' tall beam without some help and some training. He seeks to hold your feet while you practice walking along His path.

"If the LORD delights in a man's way, He makes his steps firm" Psalm 37:23

He also gives us an instruction manual, the Holy Bible, full of examples of others who have walked along that path before us. We have a Master Gymnast in Jesus Christ, who went to the Spiritual Olympics and won Gold! He can teach us how to walk, and then jump and maybe even do flips on this beam. He provided a great coach in the Holy Spirit, to teach us to hold our heads high and straight. To remind us to keep looking ahead and not back to the past or down at our feet. To cheer us along when we make progress and to console and encourage us when we fall, which we will. To tell us to get up, dust off and get back on the path.

See even though the beam is only 4" wide, with the right instructions, guide and coach you can learn how to maneuver across it - at times wobbly and nervous, and other times with fluid grace - BUT NEVER ALONE.

Walk in love, walk as children of light, walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In love,
Mona