Balls

Good morning, Five Minute Families. We are Jim and Kim Nestle with Clear View Retreat. Thank you for joining us for a new Five Minute devotional after we have taken a month off for multiple family needs. And, it was those family needs that led us to write this week about the idiom “keeping all the balls in the air.” Some of us have too many tasks and obligations going on, and as such, there is no conceivable way to keep juggling numerous balls for an indefinite period of time. Of course, we all have seasons that require more of us than we feel capable of doing. The challenge is often frustrating and satisfying at the same time. We prove to ourselves that we can rise to the challenge of our circumstances, but unless we evaluate which balls need to be let go, even temporarily, we will eventually get to a place of fatigue and burn out. That’s when it feels like all the balls come crashing down. We must never forget that some of life’s tasks, obligations, opportunities, and responsibilities are like glass. If we drop those balls, they will break. Some will only suffer a crack, but others will shatter. And, other of life’s tasks, obligations, opportunities, and responsibilities are like rubber. If we drop those balls, they’ll bounce. They may get out of hand and ricochet, causing a bit of chaos, but the importance and structure of the ball will not change. Our relationship with God, our relationships with our family and close friends, and our health are glass balls. The laundry, cleaning the house, completing our errands, making sure the neighbor is happy with how quickly you got your trash can moved back from the curb, and the like, well, those are rubber balls. As a point of clarification, we must each properly evaluate work. Work can be flexible like a rubber ball, though still fully necessary, or it might be glass for some people. Even if work is a glass ball it is likely tempered glass, it won’t shatter and scatter like the hearts of our children will if let them drop.We five-minute families must rightly apply Scripture in order to not only keep the proper balls in the air but also maximize our individual and family potential. Let’s meditate on these following five verses this week: Mark 8:36-37 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?” We must all not just prioritize our relationship with the Lord but we must also realize that we must keep every part of being and every part of our purpose focused on God’s kingdom.Christ followers must commit entirely to Matthew 22:37-40, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” When we love God, love our neighbors - the closest of whom are our household family members, and love ourselves, then we will see how to handle the tasks, obligations, opportunities, and responsibilities of everyday life.Psalm 90:12 explains that we are “to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” If we do not take the time to properly evaluate the balls we are juggling, we will end up with the tyranny of the massive amount of rubber balls while the glass ones lay shattered all around us. Wisdom helps us to see the impact of time well-spent with our loved ones or in serving in our community.Luke 12:34 expands that with “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If we are intent on having the nicest house with all the bells and whistles, but we have no one interested in spending time there because we have shown that we value the house more than them, we have revealed where our treasure truly is. When we rightly apply God’s wisdom, we will see the truth in Proverbs 21:21 “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.” Life in this verse is not simply referring to the act of breathing and having a beating heart, it is concerning a lively, active, and revived experience. Sometimes, the rubber balls have all been let go and keeping the glass balls in the air seems impossible. This is where we must be open to asking for help. And, if we see someone we know and love who needs help with their juggling, we need to help them. This is what one-anothering is all about.Keep those glass balls in the air, let any of the rubber ones drop that are getting too heavy or too many, and remember to love one another, bear one another’s burdens, and enjoy the abundant life God has for you and for your family. Be blessed!