balance

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 (10:10 a.m.)

2000 Court Ave. The Yellow House

Newport Beach, CA

Mm, Most Dear and Merciful God,

Oh how I thank You Lord. How I praise You. THE single most used phrase by me so far this day has been, “Oh my God!” And each time with a gasp!

As I sit here with You this morning attempting to balance myself on a rocking yard chair while watching waves crash and practically explode with such force, I am awed by Your majesty Lord. The color of the clearing blue sky set against the gray green of the water, interspersed with the white of the clouds and the ocean’s foam has me mystified. Oh. And now there’s sunlight streaming over all.

How do You do it Lord? Not the actual step by step “And God said, ‘Let there be…’” (Genesis 1:1-2:6) detailed account of how You made it all. No, just how do You keep track of every single hair on every single head (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7) while all this majesty is playing out?

Yeah. I’m trying to balance myself on a chair and You, YOU, balance the entire universe! Wow! I don’t even want to wonder about it Lord. No! I just want to ♫Come let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our God, our Maker. For He is our God, and we the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand, just the sheep of His hand♫

Mm, God, it all just boggles my mind! From the first scent of salty sea air, to the sounds of screeching gulls I am aware of the fact that I am spending a week at the beach for the very first time in my life without my mom or my dad. And not just any week Lord. No, no. This is the week that we are to pause long enough to celebrate Your birth.

Selfishly Lord, I realize that I am preparing to ask You that rather than finding myself trying to balance anything that You would provide me the power and the strength (Ephesians 6:10) to relax and enjoy everything. Even as I search Your Word, looking for this particular verse, I am reminded that I am not called so much to relax as I am to “Be alert and always keep praying” (v.18).

That’s where I ask for the balance Lord! Balance between being alert and taking time to truly rejoice! Balance between not being afraid but instead to fully esteem and revere You. As the tears well up inside me Lord, I’m asking that You will continue working in me that I will come to ALWAYS Revere God’s Holiness no matter what the circumstance!

Thank You Lord. Thank You for knocking me just enough off balance this morning to remind me that all my faith and hope and trust needs to be in You! You, the One so perfectly described here in Isaiah 40:12. “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, or with the breadth of His hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?” You Lord, that’s who!

Balance me this day Dearest Lord, for whatever it is You have for us as a family coming together for the first time without the physical presence of our beloved mom and grandma. You know the treasures and riches You want to bestow upon us. Open our hearts, our souls, our minds and our strength (Mark 12:30) to fully love and trust You to provide all for us that we in our humanness can’t possibly provide for ourselves.

I love You so much Dearest Lord. Thank You for Your balance. Amen.

(644 words ~ 11:26 a.m.)