Drunken Stagger

I know a few people who seem to have their lives together. They maintain (or so it seems to me) a perfect balance in life. They have quiet time every day; exercise regularly, eat right, have a regular date night with their spouse, make a good living, but take time out for leisure. They have it "together", or so it seems to me.

I am not one of those people. I am a balanced life "wanna be".

My life chart looks like a drunk staggering home after a night at the pub, pitching from one side of the road to the next, avoiding the tree, tripping over the fire hydrant, but somehow arriving at his own front door.

I work too much.  I don't pray enough, play enough, or take my wife out on a regular basis. I eat too much, don't exercise or sleep enough. I take 1/2 day off a week and feel guilty about it. I recently splurged and added a sports package to our cable so I can watch an occasional American football game. When I watch an entire game, I feel guilty and when I'm too busy to watch I feel like "Man, you can't even relax enough to watch a football game. C'mon!" My life is definitely out of wack.

At 54 years old, I'm starting to wonder about this nirvana of a "balanced life" I have been chasing. Perhaps life is meant to be grace-filled mess. Did God arrange for the apostle Paul to spent time in jail, just to slow him down? or give him a much needed rest?

I want to take/make/have more time to tell stories to my grandson (we haven't finished the "Dragoncopter" series we started), hang out with my family, drink tea with my neighbors, read a newspaper front to back, and watch a 3 hour American football game without feeling guilty or stressed.

There: it doesn't sound very "spiritual", but there it is - my prayer request - "Lord give me a less frenetic stagger. Help me to relax."

Comments

[Mark Watson]

Allan:

Thanks for having the courage to write what I think most of us feel! We really need God's mercy and grace every minute of our lives. Set yourself a goal to get some use out of that sports package. Can you get the World Series? That's some mandatory watching. :-)

Mark