Realization

Realization: God wants us off balance.

I usually want to be able to stand on my own two feet. I like feeling strong and stable. I like feeling in control. And when I do, it means I have little need to depend on God.

Oh, I can enjoy God when I'm feeling stable, sort of like I enjoy getting together with a good friend for coffee. But if the friend needs to cancel, no big deal. I'm not that invested. I'm not needy or desperate or dependent. I stand on my own.

Lots of us relate to God this way. It would be nice if he showed up just so we could catch up and chat a little bit, but if he's busy, I'll just handle life on my own.

This is why God so often throws us curveballs (I'm playing with baseball metaphors here because it's that time of year) or gets a little crazy with some wild pitch that brushes us back from the plate. He's keeping us off balance, because then we learn to depend on him.

A friend reminded me the other day that you can't walk unless you lose your balance -- the act of walking is, in fact, losing your balance and catching yourself over and over again. Walking is a great metaphor for life. The only difference with life is that we lose our balance and God catches us, over and over again.