Tetter Totter Theory

I've been thinking about teeter totters. They used to be on every playground when I was growing up. I'm sure we had some at Flat Rock Elementary. We even had a maypole. If you are not familiar with those, it was simply a pole with handle bars on the end of chain links. We would race out to get one of the coveted handles, then run around the pole, holding on for dear life, and become a human tetherball. If it sounds dangerous, it's because it was!

However, I not only survived, but even enjoyed the playground and have been spending some time thinking about teeter totters. Finding a teeter totter to photograph for this blog entry was hard. Almost as hard as trying to find the words to express the purpose of the entry.

I've been thinking about teeter totters recently because I have been yearning for some balance and this piece of playground equipment seems to best illustrate what I am trying to describe.

I want to live a life that is balanced and I think God desires that for me as well. When I look at His creation, I see that balance is required. My flowers need water. Too much water and they rot; too little water and they wilt. Our bodies need food. Too much and we are obese; too little and we are malnourished.  Unfortunately, we live in a world that doesn't make balancing easy.

Could it be that although balance is required for physical health, our soul desires the extreme. Could it even be that God created us to crave the extreme? Consider this paradox: God created us to yearn for extremes yet requires us to live in balance. Does that sound downright cruel to anyone?

Yet, I know He is not cruel; I know He is kind. And knowing this has made me ponder this paradox. And that is why I have been contemplating teeter totters and here is what I've been thinking...

I know that my God does not create and require without also equipping.

And this is where the teeter totter comes into the picture. God is three-in-one: Father, Son, and Spirit. And although there are many faults with this analogy and my majestic, wonderful, powerful, loving LORD cannot be summed up in a mere piece of playground equipment, it has helped my feeble mind to picture the trinity functioning the same way as a teeter totter.

 One function with three distinct features

that equip me to satisfy my craving for extremes

while maintaining a healthy balance.

Let's look at the teeter tooter: a plank with seats on opposite ends with a middle support that serves as the fulcrum. If the weight on both ends is equal, the plank will be balanced.

I desire balance.

Which left me with this question,

"Where do I fit into this picture?"

I believe God invites me to stand on His balance.

He is my fulcrum and my extremes.

Anyway, that's my theory.