The Bouncing Ball

I had been reading in Ecclesiastes lately and one of the verses got me to thinking about what I had accomplished in my years of working and what got sacrificed over the years because I was working; and so I thought I would write down some of my thoughts hoping that my children will learn from my mistakes and make wiser choices than I did.

Anyway this is the verse that started me thinking. “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:11 NIV)

There are “seasons” in life when ones work requires more of us than it does at other times. As a father working to provide a home, food and “things” for the family and as the soul provider for the family that season seemed like everyday.

Here are some examples just to try and clarify what I am trying to say. There is tax season for the accountant. Where Christmas season for the person working in retail is like no other time of the year. Whatever your line of work you choose, it likely has a natural rhythm that spikes at certain times of the year.

But increasingly in our success-driven culture, busy seasons have run together into all seasons. We have allowed the pace to perpetuate itself, driving us at full throttle month after month, year after year. Things may begin to come totally unraveled at home, even in your marriage; in your relationship with your children. It can happen, seemingly, in the blink of an eye.

I read an article a while back about a commencement address attributed to Brian Dyson, who held several senior management positions with Coca-Cola during his long career. He told a class of Georgia Tech graduates, "Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit - and you're keeping all of these in the air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life." Brian Dyson, CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, 1959-1994

While you may not get as many pats on the back for being at home to wash and dry the dishes; settle a disagreement; help your children with homework or study for a test. You may not receive the same sense of affirmation you feel from accomplishing a work goal or achieving recognition among your peers.

You will however be living proof that winning at home first is the key to winning anything of lasting value. This is something that you will never receive from your work or any where else you might choose to spend your time.

Marriages and families do not bounce. They shatter and they will have an impact on your family for generations. Spend your time wisely…you rarely get a second chance to do it again; spend your time where it will make a difference in eternity and not be forgotten the moment that you walk out the door and leave work.

During all my working years I had planned on doing so many things when I retired and then shortly after I retired my health, cancer in particular, change many of those “dreams” and now I regret not doing some of those things when I could have and enjoyed them with my family.

So do not put off doing what you and your family enjoys doing because you never know what may happen later on. Build memories into the lives of your children, they will last a lifetime, what you did or what you achieved at work they will never remember, they will only remember what they did not get to do.

So with all that said my pray for my children this Father's Day is that they posses the ability to juggle well . . . and to know which balls can be dropped and when they can be dropped without causing major or eternal damage.