Seesaws

The recreation ground where we played as children had six swings, a roundabout … and a seesaw. One child each end… Up and down… Great fun!

Life has many seesaws. Here’s 3….

The work-rest seesaw: On one side there’s activity, busy-ness, service, purpose, effort; on the other is relaxation, peace, recuperation, space, rest.

The good-bad seesaw: One side is success, loyalty, joy, compassion, good people; on the other is hatred, failure, disappointment, betrayal, bad people.

The past-future seesaw: On one side is memories, lessons learnt, facts, reality; on the other is anticipation, hope, uncertainty, potential.

Musing…

Movement… Seesaws are made to go up and down. They must be well-lubricated, not rusty. The fun is in the movement!… Life’s seesaws mustn’t remain motionless. Each side must rise and fall in turn, bringing different perspective, focus and importance.

Competition… The seesaw was most enjoyable when it was like an energetic competition… leaving your seat at the top, absorbing the clonk at the bottom with your legs…. The two sides of life’s seesaws may appear to be in opposition or competition. Apparent competition is actually about one helping and complementing the other.

Balanced… For seesaws to work well both sides need to have about the same weight. It was useless to get on the seesaw with my older brother! With life’s seesaws… each side should be of equal weight. Balance leads to rhythm – as one rises the other falls. In balance both sides are beneficial, giving value and understanding to the other.

A little theology…

…Work-rest… Jesus talked both about working in the fields to bring in the harvest and coming to him for rest.

… Good-bad… We are both ‘made in the image of God’… and ‘all have sinned’

…Past-future… We are both encouraged to ‘remember’ past experiences and lessons and look forward to God’s plans for future hope.

I pray for well-oiled, well-balanced seesaws that bring benefit and enjoyment.