August 7th – Life Balance

Taking It to Work:

Those of us with children want to provide the best for them. We work hard to do so, but sometimes too hard. We can stay so busy and entrenched in our work, that in the extra effort to give our kids more, we actually give them less, and give ourselves and our spouses less too. We may get that promotion, and that raise might pay for that new family car, but it is easy to get addicted to the rush of that upward climb.

When I was a kid, aged eleven or twelve, my grandmother used to visit my great-grandfather in the nursing home. My job was to go around and say hello to the other male residents in my great-grandfather’s wing. One man, fairly bedridden, one whom I had visited a few times before, called me in to his room to show me something. It was a drawer in his nightstand that contained many of the awards and recognitions he had earned during his career. Frames and small plaques piled in with just enough room to shut the drawer. He told me that the older he got, the more he hated that drawer. He said it represented lots of money too, but it wasn’t worth it.

He told me, with disdain, that the items in the drawer were all that he had to show for his life. He said he had kids out there somewhere, and two ex-wives, but he said that I was his only visitor. He lost his family years ago due to his obsession with his career. I could see the regret in his old eyes, and as he admitted fault after fault to a kid to whom he was hoping to pass on some real wisdom. His final analysis – “Son, the two most important things in life are those you love, and your memories, so buy a good camera.” It was sage advice, from someone who had a lot of time to think about how he would have done things differently. And I can tell you, it wasn’t too long after that, when I bought a really nice camera.

Now that man was not a Christian, at least I don’t remember anything that would have indicated he was, but that is not the story with us. We have the Holy Spirit helping us to keep things in proper balance, like He is doing right now, as His Word works in you, today.

Psalm 37:25 (ESV) – I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.

Prv 23:4 (ESV) – Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.

Psalm 127:2 (ESV) – It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Listening to the Holy Spirit:

Time passes and the tasks take the day. Motion of purpose and goal of mind horde the days. Unaware are you of their eyes, for they see the nuance, the small gesture of impatience, or the small nod of reluctant agreement. Your speech is heard in body and voice, and your way is understood from afar. Those who you do not see, see clearly your habit and indifference. Be aware of the way of the busy. As a bee moves from stem to stem, without notice of the beauty of color or pattern, so too those who feed themselves on occupation and find nourishment in completion. The way of the diligent is blessed, and the hard worker earns his wage, but the greater is lost in he who ceases to rest, she who spins in a stare that misses her own children. Life is more than manna. A life lived is not one of constant wear, but one that is lost. Slow the pace, hearken to the Spirit that dwells and calls you to those who need more than money, and more than the more of the world. Slow and give time to those in whom I have given you. Do not forsake the true joy that is missed, traded poorly for that which only counts for things of lesser worth. Raise your eyes from your toil, and gaze upon again your true blessings. Toil continues without end; the time with these is but a moment.