“…he set my feet upon a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand…”
~Psalm 40:2~

Last year my word for the year was “secure”. I liked that word and found it helpful for reiterating things I’d been learning in the prior year regarding establishing a “secure” connection not only within one’s self, but also with others, with our primary relationship being the one we have with God. I’ve been trying to think of a new word for the year, and originally thought this year’s word would be “balance”.

Normally when I hear this word it’s in the context of speaking of “finding balance”, applying proper proportions to the required occurrences in your life. For example, someone might speak of wanting to find balance between their work and home life. As a wife, mom, or member of a family, there is the balance of encouraging yourself and others towards growth, while also maintaining realistic expectations.

I’ve often envisioned with balance the act of walking a tight rope. With such a narrow object to walk on, the potential to fall or become off-balance is high. You have to be careful. You have to make sure you’re not leaning too far in either direction. On a narrow strip your arms are held out to the sides, assisting you in keeping your body upright. Balance in this way requires persistence in concentration.

But the balance I was thinking of when I thought of that word didn’t include that more careful kind of balance. It was not the horizontal type of balance that you would see with a seesaw, parallel to the ground holding two equal weights. It was a vertical balance between the heavens and the depths, with a way that wasn’t narrow, but open and wide, and firm beneath my feet. It was the balance of walking on solid ground.

It was the balance of two feet firmly planted on the earth, the place that we were given where we might live and walk with God. It is here he brings us down from all impaired and skewed visions, the opinions of ourselves that were sickeningly lofty. And it is also here where he raises up, bringing correction to assessments that were far too low. So as I don’t have a word, I have a verse, a new song I can learn.