Article March 21, 2011 Issue

Find your center

Life comes at us hard and fast sometimes, but knowing God’s love keeps us on solid ground.

By Jan Keeler

“Find your center!” the tennis coach encouraged his junior players as he fed balls at them hard and fast from across the net. He wanted his students to be perfectly centered so that no matter what was flying at them, no matter how hard the ball was coming, how fast or unpredictably it moved, they could respond without being thrown off balance.

Finding your center in a larger sense is more than a tennis lesson, of course. It’s a life lesson. So it’s a good thing to look squarely at ourselves and ask, “What keeps me grounded—centered—so that no matter what situation comes at me or how unexpected it is, I can’t be thrown into a state of panic, depression, anger, or distress?”

When I asked one of my ten-year-old Sunday School students, “What is it that keeps you in balance—centered?” she answered with great ease and joy, “I love God, and God loves me!” There it is—in all its profound, childlike simplicity. Being truly centered, truly grounded, is all about knowing your relationship with God, who happens to be your Creator, your Mother, your Father, your Provider, and your best friend. 