serving stability

Stability sounds so inviting. But stability is a choice. Not always, and not in every situation, but by and large, we have the power to choose to create patterns of stability, consistency, and devotion. Alas, we do not. None of us ever really do. And that erks me—about myself and others. If stability is what we long for, then why do we not seek to establish stability in our everyday experiences?

Wake up. Brush teeth. Shower. Comb hair. Dress. Eat breakfast. Plan. Begin. Rush. End. Begin again.
Plus or minus a few things.
It is the “rush” that takes over. We keep pushing, keep doing, keep working. We fight with ourselves to stop. Worse yet, we don’t even fight anymore. We just keep going. I’m as guilty as anyone of becoming numb and indifferent to the push. Yet I hear the voice of those that I love reminding me that I must stop. I can’t keep pushing. I need someone greater, something bigger. That’s not to say I don’t do or plan anything, just that I find stable ways to do so. Everyday I can do a little. Every day I can work towards a goal. But I must be mindful that my life runs parallel, and sometimes perpendicular, to others. If I chart out the stability of all those tracks I would remember that my stability depends on another. And another’s stability depends on me.

I wake up. Brush teeth. Shower. Comb hair. Dress. Devotion. Eat. Plan. Begin. Rush. End. Do again.
Others wake up. Brusth teeth. Shower. Comb hair. Dress. Devotion. Eat. Plan. Begin. Rush. End. Do again.
It is that “rush” that intersects with all of time. Someone else needs us to stop or go so that they can keep pushing, doing, working. We fight to let ourselves help another. Who knew that stopping would be as much a blessing to someone as doing. I guess it all depends on which lives we want to intersect with, and what sort of stability we want to have as well as provide.
I’m asking God for some more stability these days. Knowing full well that if I doubt he is offering that to me then I am already “unstable in all of my ways” Jms. 1:8.
Here’s to stability. My own and for the sake of another. When I cannot find it in any other place, it is in the unchangeable God. May I be grateful for the stability offered to me by him, and faithful to practice stability for the love of another, extending grace and forgiveness when it is not always available to me.
Give thanks. Practice. Forgive. Do again.
-A life of great stability.