Knowing which way is up

"the wisdom of the world

    is foolishness with God"

1 Corinthians 3:19

Have you ever had a circumstance in your life that was painful, difficult, or uncomfortable? 

I thought so.

Me too. 

And have you ever looked at a picture of yourself during that difficult time, and then felt that same feeling that you had felt?  For instance, when I was in the hospital giving birth the first time (my Awesome Girl) there was one picture of me that was taken before I had the epidural.  In other words, one photo when I was miserable.  There were photos taken afterwards, where I was smiling, and just waiting (fairly) patiently for things to progress.  But in this one particular shot, I was most definitely not smiling.  And any time I see that photo, I am uncomfortably reminded of how miserable I was at that time. I can almost feel it again, all these years later.

I had a similar, albeit less painful, experience last year while visiting San Antonio, Texas.  We were in a museum that included a "fun house" of sorts, and one of the things to experience was a long narrow room in which the floor was set at a very steep angle.  It was amazing how easily our sense of equilibrium can be thrown off!

You can see that both of my kids are able to stand, at a very steep angle, without falling over.   Amazing Boy had his hands on the walls, but only because he was trying to press his luck! :)

Here you can see that the tennis balls are staying at the "high" end of the bar, as if they're defying gravity.

Now, I was taking all these pictures from outside the "slanted zone".  There were "windows" cut into the walls of the slanted room, so that those who didn't want to participate could still watch those who did.

And why would someone not want to participate in the slanted room?  Because it makes some people nauseated, that's why.  I speak from experience.  I tried.  And I quickly left the weird zone, and watched my family enjoy instead.  And even now, when I look at these pictures, it makes my stomach a little queasy, and my head a little achy to remember!

But it also was a good lesson to me; one that I still remember.  Because when I decided to come out of the slanted room, even though I'd only been in there a matter of seconds, it was hard to get my footing back.  My equilibrium had decided that the "abnormal" was normal.  The flat part now seemed weird, and my body no longer trusted what had been fact just a short time before.  It was even worse for my family, who spent several minutes in there.

The Apple of my Eye back on "terra firma", and Amazing Boy still messing with his equilibrium!

I think this can happen to us if we're not careful.  God's Word gives us the model and the instructions for what's supposed to be "normal," but we're having to walk through this very slanted world, and it's easy to lose our equilibrium.  The ways of the world can start to make sense to us, if we're not reminding ourselves frequently of how we are to live.

We have to do our best to make sure that what the world calls "normal" doesn't become our standard.  And man, it's hard.  TV, movies, ads, magazines... the input is incredible, so our determination has to be strong.  Reading the Bible every day, going to church, and hanging out with people who do, are what's going to keep us on the straight and narrow.  Or rather, the straight and flat.

~ "Teach me Your way, O Lord,

and lead me in a smooth path" ~

Psalm 27:11