Full disclosure: I sort of just hit the wall. Things caught up and I’m going to try to power down again. I know I want to write about balance. I’ve learned a lot about balance in the last ten years. Still struggle with it, however. Maybe many of you have it down. Balance comes and goes, I suppose. If we’re honest, we’re always searching for the sweet spot, which can be elusive.

Our friend, Pat, termed my specialist our Tier Four doctor. I like it. Not sure if he’s out of puberty yet but I’m happy to surrender into his care. I’m not stupid. When he said I could begin to be more active, I knew he didn’t mean try to break that stair master again. While the headaches have mostly disappeared (praise God), I have no knowledge that this problem just went poof. But, my body and mind have sort of gone, “Hey, let’s get back in the saddle. We have some catching up to do!”

No single thing. A few big things. A passel of smaller things. Physical and emotional. Toss in a dose of little sleep and enough is enough. I got the message at several times today. Thank you to the several of you who shared that with me in your own way. Also, it just became so plain obvious, to be honest.

I didn’t want what happened to me two years ago to do a repeat appearance. As I retired, I’d clearly heard God say (sorry to faithful readers who raise an eyebrow at that!), “take a year off when you retire and don’t commit to anything. You need to rest, get your health in order, learn to really listen to me. There will be plenty for you to do after that time.” Well, I made it six months til January, when I began to feel tugged to jump back in and serve in a few areas. Then one morning, I stood up, my right foot slipped out of my flip flop and I was sidelined from walking and driving for months. Not sayin’ God broke my foot, mind you. But I don’t want to test that process now. Not at all.

So, I’m going to try to back off on that accelerator pedal a bit. Down to idle for at least a couple of days. My priorities still don’t change. Every day is a gift. Appreciate the moments. Receive blessings with gratitude. Look kindly upon others and enrich their lives wherever possible. None of this is hard.

Lest I be misunderstood, some of the most physically frail people are the strongest people I know. Frailties in this life can never stand against trust, hope and love.

Thank you for listening. I know I checked the stats on this blog thing several weeks ago that shows how many people read it and I was surprised. I haven’t since. It doesn’t matter. If the words resonate with anyone and help frame feelings and thoughts, then I count that as a blessing, as so many have blessed me.

Don’t get rid of that stair master. I’ll be back. 🙂

Lord, sometimes we avoid the obvious and don’t rest when the signs are clear. We choose to forge ahead because that seems like the right thing to do. Well, we know that isn’t always good. It’s hard to admit frailty. It’s hard to surrender. Thank you for showing us how. Amen.