Norfords' Ramblings

Tuesday April 28, 2009

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6.

Sunday was not a good day. We went to church in the morning, but I felt weak and some pain in the surgical area. Even today, I still feel less well than a week ago! We can only assume that we were getting back into routine too quickly and my body complained as a result. Healing comes both through exercise and rest; exercise to stretch the body and rest to allow it to recover. Getting this balance right between exercise and rest is the key to timely healing.

Life is all about balance. Balancing work and family; between commitments to others and boundaries for oneself; between work and play; between our spiritual and physical needs. And probably most important for those of us who are married, balance between our partner and our children. Some parents dote on their children to the neglect their partners; others see children as an obstacle to their relationships. Obviously, both extremes are wrong, but either can become the default position when difficulties occur within the family.

However, our position has always been that the marriage relationship is the first importance, for without that the children’s security is threatened. I often note airline requirements that in an emergency an adult should don an oxygen mask first before ensuring a child’s mask is in place. Should the adult attend to the child first, she may be insufficiently alert enough to look after the child properly and even less for herself. The same applies to establishing a firm marital relationship; it is the crucible to ensure the child’s well-being.

Of course, a totally well-ordered life can seem monotonous, so perhaps sometimes we also need a balance between balance and a fling—there should be opportunity for madness once in a while! We are humans, not machines!