Living a Balanced Life

   When I was a Senior in high school, the cheerleaders convinced me to join cheer. It took them 6 years but they finally got me. It wasn't nearly as easy as I was expecting. After the first day, my legs were so sore from partner stunting, I couldn't even get out of my desk! I loved it! I made some good friends and I learned a lot about myself.
   When I was cheering, I was in a position called the back spot. I held the flyer's ankles and helped to hold her steady. There were two other cheerleaders in the stunt group called bases, each of them would support a foot. We all had to work together in order to keep the flyer up. The bases were the foundation and it was my job to keep the flyer from falling. It took practice but eventually we were all able to find the balance that worked best for us.
   After we learned to keep the balance as a group, we would begin to work on more difficult skills. We would fall time and time again, but we would never give up. Every time the flyer would fall I would catch her (if I wasn't there the flyer would hit the ground and most likely get hurt very bad).  Then we would reset as a group, get better grips, figure out what we did wrong, and throw her back up to try again. If we couldn't get it, we would need to change out one of the bases and try again. Once we got it, we'd move on to a bigger and better skill. Always improving and always becoming better.
   All of us have principles on which we base our lives. The principles can vary widely; family, faith, love, friends, work, etc. These are our bases. Jesus Christ is our back spot. Every time we fall, he is there to catch us, help us figure out what we did wrong and then to get back up.
    The bases in our lives are more important than we could ever know. Most of the time we don't even realize that we are off balance and have the wrong base. Sometimes we don't have the right balance between our bases. It is then that we switch out a base and try again, maybe trading out work for family.We don't always get it on the first try, or the second, or the third. That is the joy of life. We can always improve and be better.
   We all fall. I for one am very happy when I have Christ to catch me. If I didn't have Jesus Christ to catch me, I would get hurt and I might not be able to get up for quite a while. When I fall, He is right there to catch me and tell me what I could do better. In Isa. 41:14 it says, "I will help thee, saith thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" He helps me pick the bases I should be using and then sends me right back up to try again. When I find the right balance, I can move on to bigger and better things in life. I had a balance after high school, so I went on a mission. Missionaries have a balance when they get back from their mission, so they get married. Married couples find a balance and then decide to start a family.
   I am so grateful for the bases that my life is founded on! I know that Christ is there in all of our lives to catch us if we let him. If we don't, we fall hard. That is the difference between someone with Christ and someone without Christ. I invite you to check and see what your bases are and, if necessary, change some of them. If you do you will feel the strength and balance that Christ gives!