Balancing on One Leg

Balance is critical to our lives. There is a lot of research to support this idea. Balance gives us stability and helps to prevent injuries. It is especially important as we get older to keep us from breaking our hips and enable us to continue walking on our own two feet for longer. There is a plethora of fitness equipment, programs and exercises to help improve our balance.

I received a BOSU (Both Sides Up) trainer for Christmas. One side is flat while the other is a dome. What I didn't realize until I got on this strange contraption is that we use lots of little muscles to maintain our balance. Trying to stand on one leg on the dome puts all sorts of tiny muscles in your feet and knees to work. Try it, even on a flat surface, you can feel all those little muscles struggling to support you on one leg if you wait long enough.

So balance doesn't just rely on our big muscles like our abs and glutes, but all these little unused muscles, which need to be strengthened too. What are the "little muscles" of our spiritual life? Maybe the first question is what are the "big muscles"? I think the "big muscles" are the obvious things: going to church regularly, giving money to charity and serving others. Perhaps the "little muscles" are daily prayer, reading the Bible and looking to be Christ for and see Christ in everyone we meet.

There are certainly times in our lives when we are trying to balance on one leg. If you work in a church that time is during the Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter seasons. If you're a teacher it is the beginning and end of the school year. Every industry/job has its crazy, busy time when it is nearly impossible to have enough time to sleep or eat properly, spend as much time with family and friends as you would like and relax. How do we train all of our muscles so that we can stand on one leg?

Just like balance training prepares us for the time we are thrown off balance and standing on one leg, spiritual training prepares us for those times our life is off balance. What does that mean? Practicing "balanced living" when we can. What does it look like? For each of us it looks different, but if we are balanced we are content, well-rested and able to give to others (time and love). Usually that means we are getting enough sleep, eating properly, spending time with God, spending time with others and ourselves.

What I discovered is that my life was most in balance when I was training for my first marathon. There was a pattern to the training and my life fell into that pattern; each aspect being very important. Of course I had to run a lot, 436 miles over the course of 4 months, but I also had to rest. If I didn't eat enough, I couldn't make it through the runs or days. Well, I could, but no one wanted to be around me. I could be in the Snickers commercials; not sure who would play the hungry me, but she would be nasty! I also needed to cross-train to give my little muscles a chance to work as well as improve my cardiovascular capacity.

Did you know that it is on the rest days that the muscles recover and strengthen? If I didn't rest my muscles they wouldn't have had the chance to grow stronger. Weak legs do not get you to the finish line. The lesson....You get stronger during rest! It bears repeating...YOU GET STRONGER DURING REST!

Looking back it is amazing that during the peak week of my training I ran 40 miles (that's 6-1/2 hours) as well as worked, took care of family commitments, walked the dog, cleaned the house, ate a lot and slept about 7-9 hours every night. I was able to get it all done because I was balanced.

Training for a marathon takes dedication, time and discipline. The only way a person can finish the race, walking or running, on one's own two legs is with lots of training. The training starts slow, with running 15 miles the first week. The time spent cross-training and running increases gradually over 18 weeks. There are weeks that you "step back", in other words run less miles than the previous week to give your body a rest. The ultimate week of training is week 15 which consists of running 40 miles, then so that the body is well-rested the running tapers off.

Perhaps this is how we should look at living our lives for God. Maybe we need to start small, saying a short prayer at the start and end of the day; build up to a more refined spiritual practice like contemplative prayer. We also need to spend a little time helping others, maybe it is helping once a year to hand out Christmas gifts or work in a soup kitchen. That can build into volunteering regularly and then perhaps leading an organization/ministry. We must also take the time for rest, maybe a retreat once a year or weekly bible study. Consider the "cross-training" the time we spend in the world, at work, with friends or in secular organizations. Don't forget the need to "step-back" every once in awhile. That could be taking a vacation or at least a break from a commitment or two.

All aspects are important to a balanced life, of course balance looks different to everyone, so we have to work to find our own balance. But we need to train so that we can stand on one leg when needed.