I woke up literally off-balance. Some kind of vertigo sensation. Very mild, but sort of felt like I just got off a boat. It’s been with me all morning… a slight dizziness.

This is a reflection of my life. It has been off-balance lately. Too much work, not enough time spent with family. Too much news, not enough reflection. Too much noise, not enough silence. Too much sitting, not enough exercise. Too much hurry, not enough stillness.

It’s amazing in today’s world that we can have an abundance of sitting and yet a lack of stillness!

I need to remember the areas of life I want to make deposits in…

1. Spiritual Growth
2. Personal Growth
3. Health & Wellness
4. Marriage
5. Family
6. Creative Pursuits
7. Community
8. Work
9. Finance

To succeed in one area of life at the expense of another is still failure.

This doesn’t mean you “try to do everything at once.” You won’t hit every bucket every day. But over the course of a week or a month, I want to equally invest in each area of life.

I woke up to an article about microplastics in our brains. The amount has increased by over 50% in the last 8 years and is now estimated to be the equivalent of a plastic spoon in each brain!

This made me distressed. ”How do I cut down on plastic consumption? I need to throw away all my polyester shirts and jeans with stretchy spandex. Throw away all the kids toys and replace them with wooden toys! Never buy another plastic product again!”

Obviously this is impractical. They say the nanoparticles of plastic are in the meats we eat and even the plants that we eat! And we can breathe them in… they’re equivalent in size to two COVID virus strands end-to-end.

On my walk, I was reminded of one of my favorite sayings from Jon Courson…

“If I look around, I’ll be distressed. If I look within, I’ll be depressed. But if I look up, I’ll be blessed!”

I remembered, I have no control over when I’ll die. I could have the perfect diet, the perfect exercise program; I could get rid of all the plastics and synthetic fibers in my life; I could be a billionaire, eliminate all stress, and get perfect sleep every night – and yet I could still die in the car today. I could get rear-ended waiting at a red light. But if I die today, I know where I’m going. I’m going to be with my Lord, my Savior, my Friend, my King.

Look up! Don’t be obsessed with what’s going on in the world. Turn off the news. Unplug. Be still. Wait. Then go slowly. Be anxious for nothing! You’re in Good hands.

God, help me to focus on You. To remember that this life is temporary and fading quickly – a vapor in the wind. Be with me and help me to keep my heart set on Heaven.

Yes, we should plan like we’ll live for another 300 years. We should do the best we can do and be the best we can be. But we should live like today is our last day.

“Go to the ant, O sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief,
officer, or ruler,
she prepares her bread in summer
and gathers her food in harvest.”

Proverbs 6:6-8

There is, of course, the practical application of the sluggard observing the ant, imitating her ways, working diligently while it is summer and harvest so there is sustenance for winter. But I’d like to dwell on the spiritual application of this passage.

While it is still summer – while life is good – we ought to be diligent to store up spiritual nourishment. The crumbs from the Master’s table. To be in church and midweek Bible study; to listen to sermons and take notes; to study quietly every morning and meditate on the Word of God throughout the day; to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. If we do this in summer when life is pleasant, if we gather in harvest when surrounded by abundance, then we will be ready for life’s winter.

Winter will always come. No man escapes it. Those dark nights of the soul when tragedy strikes, when loved ones are lost, when economies fall, when war rages, when sickness causes suffering, when fortunes fail, when hunger comes. Those who have not prepared will be the ones whose hearts fail, who turn their backs on God, who blame Him out of ignorance or forgetfulness. It is easy to blame God when we have not stored up the truths of His character in our hearts. But if we gather while it is harvest, we will have an inner store of nourishment to sustain us through life’s winter.

Wisdom is greater than riches. True heavenly wisdom, that is. Not the wisdom of the world – not man’s wisdom. We must trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding. We fully embrace God and fully shun self.

It is those who are great in heavenly wisdom who are truly great – not those with great wealth, fame, or power. This heavenly wisdom is mostly invisible to outside observers. Perhaps a glimpse of it can be seen in a man’s unusually good nature or peacefulness, in self-control and speech absent of cursing. This wisdom is wrapped in steadfast love and faithfulness. But the world greatly esteems and prefers wealth and worldly wisdom – and looks down on those who seek the Lord at such great expense.

I pray my sons find true success in life (success for both this life and the next). That they attain heavenly wisdom even if it costs them everything else. I would rather them be impoverished saints than esteemed atheists.

Proverbs 3:16 speaks of wisdom, showing her with long life in her right hand and riches and honor in her left. These gifts may be for this present world, but they surely point to the life to come, where we shall dwell forever with our Lord and Savior and King, sharing in the magnificent riches and honor of His Kingdom – ruling and reigning with Christ.

I must remember to meditate on these things.

Heavenly meditation isn’t the same as worldly meditation. It isn’t focusing on our breath but focusing on His. It isn’t staring at particles floating in the sun but keeping our eyes fixated on the Son.

Return to the Breath of Life. Return to His Word and teachings and His character. Return to the person of Christ and the life He lived, the death He died, and the triumphant resurrection that awaits all those who trust in Him.

In 2025, I want to make this one thing my daily practice: to return my thoughts and my heart to Him all the day long. To submit my will to His. To accept all good and evil as lovingkindness from Him. If He’s a good Father, then both His correction and His gifts are good – both the darkness and hardship of life, both lightness and ease.

This is true peace.