A Balancing Act

   After staying up late to watch the end of the Duke-Texas A&M football game last night, I did not wake up early, and when I did get up, I had a foggy brain. Thinking that for me to concentrate on what I was to read on the first day of this new year, I needed to get out and get some fresh air and have a little bit of exercise. It does help, a lot, and I came back in to see what I would find in the Bible readings.

   As I had come back through the condo garage, I spotted the car of a friend upstairs. She had asked me if I would check the air in her tires, as the ride seemed harsh, and her inboard computer showed that there was more air in each than was recommended. So when I got back up in the condo, I found my gauge and went back to check. Sure enough, they were all on the high side, so I let enough out of each to put the pressure in the acceptable range. I had thought to myself earlier, "if I don't do it early, she will be gone, and I will have let another day pass without any action on her request".

   Then, as I sat down to read once more, I noticed a letter on my desk from an inmate over in a state prison in Macon County. It had come a few days earlier, and I had been so busy with grand kids, that I had set it aside and not even read it, much less responded to it. So I read it and thought about how I should write back.

   Then it was breakfast and after that, some bills to pay, to get in the mail today, and some domestic things to help my wife with.

   Of course, the reason why all this piled up on my plate this morning was because I did not get up early as I like. Even though I knew that I needed to do these little things, I also knew that being with God first was the best road to accomplishment for me.

   So I wondered, even as I read, "do I always need to sit down and read and pray first of all each day and then go do, or should I do when I see things, and then get the quiet time done later?" Does it even matter in which order, or is there a "right" way.

   I want to put God first, and to let Him have the first thoughts of any day, but what about the ox in the ditch.

   I read this in Psalms 55, when I finally get to it:

 "Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!"

   My prayer had been, right before I read the above, that God would show me how to achieve balance in my life. How He would let me not be a slave to any routine, just for routine's sake.

   Little things, not earth shattering things, but how to keep my priorities in the right place was where I felt the need of assurance. Only God could give me that, so I asked.

Abiding or doing? There is a place for both, and there is a need for both. I just want to find God's balance for me, this day and every day.