It's A Delicate Balance

Psalm 139:13-14-"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. "
It is safe to say that of all of God's creation, human beings are his most complex and intricate masterpieces. Our bodies alone are marvels to behold. Every muscle, ligament and tendon has a specific function to perform and yet cannot fulfill that function without the aid of other parts of the same body. If one muscle becomes too strong at the cost of another muscle becoming weak, the delicate balance God intended is compromised and can lead to major injury. Sports physiologists and trainers work closely with modern day athletes to ensure that their overall fitness is the best that it can be. This can bring frustration to young athletes who specialize in only one event. A weight lifter might grumble at the cardiovascular training he must endure. His focus is understandably on developing strong muscles in his arms and legs and in his mind, this can be better accomplished in a gym, rather than in running around a track. Yet his coaches know the strain that each lift can bring to an athlete's heart during heavy competition as blood is sent pumping to each muscle used in a lift. Great caution is taken to ensure that all his muscles are equally as strong; a weak back can end a lifter's career. A shattered kneecap because of a ligament popping in a lift can lead to crippling life long pain. A gymnast worries that her flexibility will be compromised and that her strength training might yield muscle bulk. She finds the weight repetitions to be boring and unchallenging. She'd much rather be out doing back flips than chest presses. Without strong tendons and ligaments, however, the gymnast runs a great risk of serious injury to her bones. As my disability progresses, I have seen this principle in effect on a daily basis. Over the past couple of years, I have seen a marked decrease in function in my hands. Although my brain sends signals to my fingers to perform certain tasks, my fingers lack the strength and sensitivity to follow through. I have gained a new appreciation for the complex series of hand and finger movement that is involved of picking up a dime off the floor, for example. As my handwriting deteriorates, I remember the joy I felt as a young child as I orchestrated ligaments, muscles, tendons and bones to grasp the pencil and slowly print my name. I know that if I am not careful and overexert any muscle in my feet, legs, hands and arms, that I face the serious risk of permanent damage. Physical therapists developed an exercise program for me that is gentle enough not to tax any muscle group, yet slows the progress of my disorder. If I seriously overextend one finger to compensate for the weakness in the next, I know that I only further the progression overall. God created our spirits to be in balance in the same way he created our bodies to be in balance. Although he has gifted each of us with specific natural talents and spiritual giftings, as our heavenly 'trainer' he reminds us not to neglect our overall spiritual well-being. We fall into the trap of neglecting other areas in our spiritual walk through an over emphasis or blind focus on what we consider our specialty. After all, that specialty keeps us interested usually comes relatively easy to us. In the arena of prayer, God calls us to be well-rounded athletes. While we might naturally draw to one aspect of prayer, he desires us to be prayer pentathlon warriors. He calls us to be proficient in all forms of prayer, although we may be more gifted in one event more than the rest. Unlike physical athletes who are forced to retire after relatively short careers, prayer athletes continue their training long into old age, continuing to strengthen, master and hone their skills.