Cheryl Mendoza

Balance has been on my mind.  Some of it has to do with the political news, some with my life, but I decided to write about it because of a news story about the Wallenda family.

You know who they are?  The crazy people on the high wire, that for over 95 years have thrilled and scared  the …well you know what….out of people.  All at the same time!  This week while they were practicing for a show in Florida, they attempted an eight person pyramid.  I say attempted, because they didn’t complete the stunt, as one of the performers lost their balance and fell.  Some were hurt, and thankfully all will recover.  As soon as this horrific event happened, they immediately started looking for a cause.  The most likely culprit was the rigging, and it was the first thing they checked, but they discovered it wasn’t the rigging.  They determined that it was the most simple, yet most important thing in an aerial act.  Balance.

One of the performers lost their balance.  It may have been a little, or a lot?  I have a feeling though, in that kind of stunt it doesn’t matter.   On the high wire, it’s all about balance.  As I read the account of the fall, I thought it was pretty good word picture.  Life it seems is all about balance.

 Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.  Daniel 1:20 NLT

 I always love going to see what the bible says about these words that prick my interest.  The verse above is from the story of Daniel and his friends.  They’d been taken as slaves to Babylon, and when they got there,  they were forced into service of the king.  This was not a good situation, as this king had conquered their land, killed and enslaved their people and did not honor God.   How did they handle it?  These young men were able to come through this horrible situation, by honoring God and bringing wisdom to the king.  The advice they gave was wise, but I love that it’s noted that their judgement was balanced.

I think of this world right now and I don’t hear a lot of balanced judgement or much wisdom.  And like it was for the Wallenda family, I think that lack of balance has the potential to cause much harm.  There are times that I am encouraged though, as I try to find balance in my own life.  I continue to see glimpses of that elusive state of being in different people.  When I see it, I cling to it, and I try to work out how it should look in my own life.  It’s not easy! Like most people, I find myself getting caught up in the noise and I feel the frustration of that tension.   I take heart though from Daniel and his friends.  They were able to have that kind of balance in an upside down world.  So I trust that if I seek it, God will help me find it!  And even more important, that He will give me the strength and humility to bring it to a world in desperate need of it.