Finding balance in our lives

       I started attending an exercise class two weeks ago.  During one of the first classes the instructor had us get out an exercise ball.  I worried a little since I had very little experience with one of these and thought it looked like it had the potential for some embarrassing circumstances.  The instructor told us that the purpose of using the ball was to help strengthen our core.  As I attempted to position myself on the ball and do the exercises I felt myself really wobbling around.  The instructor kept yelling things out like:
 - tighten your core
- find your center
- balance so you don't fall
      Finally by the last few reps I felt like I was getting it.  But, as soon as I was feeling confident the instructor told us to grab our weights and we were going to do the same exercises but with added resistance.  Of course it was much harder with the weights and I had to go through the whole process again of trying to really concentrate on tightening my core, finding my center, and balancing.  Let's just say I fell a few times!
      However, over the last two weeks as I have had additional opportunities to use this exercise ball, I have learned that if I pause while I am getting into position and make sure I am centered and balanced before I begin the exercises,  I am much more successful.
     I started to think about how this relates to life in general.  If we strengthen our core (or our testimonies), pause to find our center (or look to Jesus Christ through prayer and scripture study), and balance ourselves properly between our spiritual, emotional, and physical health, we will be much less likely to fall.  Also, when we find ourselves with added resistance during difficult times we need to lighten the load somewhere else to find our balance again. We will have to concentrate even harder on strengthening, centering, and finding balance.