Keep Your Knees Bent

The book Ecclesiastes in the Holy Bible makes it clear that there are different timings and stages that we encounter along this journey we call life. There is pressure on every side you turn to, you must live in the trendy and up and coming neighborhoods, your closet must be filled with the latest designers and $1K dollars shoes that you can only wear 15 minutes at a time, your car must represent class, every time you step out the door you are to look like success, whatever that means. At all times you must present your life as one with a little red bow tied around it and packaged exactly right.
If it has not already happened to you and you choose to keep on living, at some point in time you will simultaneously experience JOY and PAIN; simultaneously you will experience SUNSHINE and RAIN. There will be a season in your life that you declare is the worst time you have experienced, but amid hell, blessings will flow, and you will find it being the worst of times and the best of times coexisting.

My oldest son played football as a youth and in college, during his high school athletic days I would go, and watch his practices, I wanted to know firsthand what the coaches were teaching my son and who was influencing him when I wasn't around. During practice I remember hearing his coach explaining to the players, specifically my son, of the importance of keeping his knees bent. The coach went on to explain that during the game a plethora of plays would be called and at any given time the game could switch up. For the players to be positioned to adjust in the blink of an eye, they needed to keep their knees bent. By keeping their knees bent it would increase their agility and allow them to dominate even when the unexpected occurs.

Keeping your knees bent has stuck with me throughout the years and has become a life principle as our journey is comprised of seasons and just like with Mother Nature, the seasons of life can switch in the blink of an eye. Have you ever woken up to a bright sunny summer day, you pulled out your most comfortable yet cute summer attire, got your day started and then what seems out of nowhere, rain starts pouring down. Here you are in the middle of a downpour in sandals and no umbrella. Well, life can be just that way, you may be in one of the best seasons of your life, you are thriving at work, your bills are paid, and you have a nice financial safety net, your marriage is great, your children are listening and making sound decisions, your cars are mechanically sound, you are growing spiritually, life couldn't be better. You go to sleep, wake up and while watching the news you learn your company is going belly up! You get to work and yep...you got a pink slip with your last check attached. On your way home in disbelief you just lost the best job you ever had, the car in front of you slams on their brakes and without the proper reaction time you slam into the back of their vehicle, but you figure that is what you have insurance for. You provide your insurance information, the tow truck arrives to transport your vehicle, you call your insurance company to report the accident and find out that your husband hasn't paid the insurance in three months. Furious, you slide into the backseat of an Uber headed home and you see "Mom" on the caller id, you sigh a sigh of relief as you are grateful that your mother still knows when you just need to hear her voice. You gleefully answer the phone only to hear her loud sounds of wailing, in between the wails you learn your mother just received a cancer diagnosis.

The season has changed. Making the shift will be much easier if you are already positioned for change, if your knees are bent you can quickly make the adjustment.