A Circus Act

We all walk a very thin tightrope. Each day we are faced with the task of balancing ourselves, and continuing to move forward. We do not travel empty-handed. In our hands, we carry responsibilities... relationships... bills... work... children... lovers... sometimes we transport so many things that we carry them on our backs, or as a heavy weight around our soul. The problem with this, is that all of the things we carry are not fully under our control, and often the people that we tote are not able to see the big picture... they have a balance they try to keep, too. When they feel that they are not receiving enough attention, or perceive your grip on them as slipping, they become restless. They jump, they poke... they wave their arms frantically. To them, these seem like completely reasonable actions. But to you, who is desperately trying to keep everything balanced, it causes a violent ripple that threatens to send your whole life plummeting. As people hop in and out of our already full hands, as they hook and unhook themselves at will from the weight that we bear... they do not realize the work it takes for us to keep everything stable. They do not know how their accusations and threats lead to our anxiety... they do not see the beads of sweat that form or the knotted stomach that comes from all the energy we exert trying to get through each day successfully. They do not understand.

But thankfully, the one thing that we ourselves cannot see is the one thing that makes all the difference. For all of our teetering... for all of our fears... for all of our stress and strain and balancing... we need not worry. If we look closely, there is a safety net just inches below our tightrope. It is fashioned by God, and supported effortlessly by those who truly love us. If the whole thing came tumbling down... if we lost our footing and everything slipped from our hands... we would not have far to fall. And those who love us would support the weight of all of our various packages and baggage... and slowly but surely we would begin our walk again.

There are several people I know who are struggling in this balancing act. You have a safety net. You have a soft place to fall. And I can carry some of those things if you ever need me to. Knowing that might make this walk a little easier.