Life by the Level

I sit here imagining all the metaphors for my scattery mind.  A radio skipping through stations and never quite tuned in.  A channel- surfing television.  A camera taking constant, random photos.  A merry-go-round of noise and blur. 

I desperately tried to rest in contemplatio this morning, that sweet, centered, undistracted time with my Maker.  But my brain rebelled, informing me of a thousand other possibilities.  I tried to savor the words from Romans 11:  Be mindful of the root that keeps you lithe and green.  My mind's eye simply could not focus on the root.  It tried instead to follow all the dandelion seeds blown by the wind, losing track of everything.

Finally, I tried to imagine a carpenter's level.  Many times during our deck building this month, I held the level for Dave while he gently tapped boards from bottom and top.  "There, that's it," I would whisper, and he would smile and lean into the drill to secure the board. 

I need to keep my focus on that tiny bubble, centered between two hash marks.  There is value in laying the level on my life, my heart, my attitude, because things become askew, priorities teeter on loose nails, laziness and apathy grasp tools carelessly, and we all end up tripping over crooked floorboards. 

If I emphasize the children's behavior more than the condition of their hearts, the bubble moves to the left.  If I fill our lives with activity and leave no time for relationships and communication, the bubble moves to the right.  If I jump into commitments without discernment, the level falls right to the ground. 

We start homeschool on Monday and I have this gnawing worry that I have overscheduled our family, most of all myself.  I enjoy and excel at the things I've agreed to do/lead/teach, but what will the level reveal in a month?  We shall see.  To be continued....