Finding balance in life can be hard. So many things demand our attention. My list includes paying bills, planning meals, grocery shopping, writing, and planning ahead. I’m sure you have your own list. Reading the Bible and meditating on it often gets short changed when the urgent demands of each day overwhelm us. Yet without quiet reflection, it’s hard to find peace of mind.
Jesus knows us and provides help
“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants so that they could not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.” Mark 4:3-8 (NIV)
How does that help?
What if the soil in Jesus story is our mind? When the demands of our lives take up all our mental space, then reading the Bible is more like feeding hungry birds or planting on hard packed dirt. The words our eyes see don’t sink in. We read the same paragraph three times and still don’t know what it said. Or we catch the thought, but our worries chase it away before it can grow into action. The ideas just can’t get past our preoccupied thoughts. We need clear mental space, not just physical time, in order to grow faith.
Preparing our minds
Maybe we need to prepare our minds like a farmer prepares soil for planting. He plows and harrows to break up hard lumps. What hard lumps exist in our minds? Unresolved anger and grudges feel hard. Bitterness feels like a big weed. How can love flourish when those hard lumps and weeds stay unchanged in our minds? How can the words from the Bible get though and grow?
Seek first the kingdom of God
Jesus told us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. (Matthew 6:33) He promised that everything else would fall into place if we obey. Putting God in first place must be the secret to finding balance. What tiny oasis of quiet can we find to tend the garden of our minds?
Please comment on what works for you. You may help somebody else find balance. Thank you.
