Spinning with a certain wobble

“We realize that the world still spins and life goes on, but ours just spins with a certain wobble to it now.”

I share the above quote with permission from a Facebook post from a few months ago. The couple who shared it had lost their young son in a car crash a couple of months prior. In the eloquent post, they shared their hearts over the loss, along with their hope in Jesus, and their appreciation for the outpouring of support during their difficult time. But it was that last line in the post that really hit home. Actually, it was the last paragraph.

They wrote, “We ask for your continued prayers over our family as we navigate a new way of living. We realize that the world still spins and life goes on, but ours just spins with a certain wobble to it now.”

A certain wobble. I suppose if you live long enough, just about everyone’s world spins with a certain wobble. I look around and I see it. The lady who lost her husband recently, individuals bearing with a long term illness, families dealing with children with handicaps, and friends facing, what looks like, the end of life reality. Yes, the world is spinning and life goes on, but there is definitely a wobble there. Sometimes, more than a wobble.

I’ve lived long enough and I’ve been there. Events from years ago, and another place and time, jolted my world from its axis. As my world was spinning out of control, I had a friend ask me, “Don’t you think God has let you down?” (Actually, that doesn’t sound like much of a friend, does it?)

My response was simple, “Let me down? He’s the only thing holding me up!”

Over time, things improved, my world began to spin on a new course, but the wobble was there. And the wobble is still there. You may not notice it, and there are times that I don’t notice it, but it’s there. And, like many of you already know, I suppose it will always be there.

But the world still spins and life goes on, and, as they wrote, we have to learn to “navigate a new way of living.” How do we navigate this new way of living?

I suppose the first thing to realize is that there is no set way to navigate, and your journey may be much more difficult than mine. But while everyone’s journey is different, there is a common theme. You have to keep on going, putting one foot in front of the other. I know that sounds simplistic, and it’s easier said than done. But, the same God who held me up during that dark time, is the God that has helped me navigate the days since. As I read in a devotional this past week, “Fix your mind on the idea that God is there.”

For all of us, we need to remember that there are a bunch of fellow wobblers out there, trying to navigate the different stages of their journey, with their world spinning with its own certain wobble. And their world may have been spinning like that for some time, and they may feel forgotten. A phone call, text, visit, or a kind deed may be just what they need today.

A certain wobble. You may see it today in others, or maybe in your mirror. It’s one of the ways that makes us unique. But it’s also one of the ways we’re all alike.