Why slowing down and finding balance feels uncomfortable.

Years ago, we were having  a family movie night when we started to notice a strange smell. It smelled of burning and fumes. We investigated around the house a little and couldn’t identify a source — no flame, no smoke, no alarms going off. But the smell wasn’t dissipating.

We started to wonder if we should we call the fire department. It didn’t feel like an emergency, not really. Nothing was actively on fire. What if we called and they brought the entire battalion and it turned out to be nothing? We live on the corner of a busy neighborhood. Imagine the questions we’d get asked in the days that followed.

But as the minutes went on, everything snapped into focus. I was letting my family remain inside a potentially hazardous house, reluctant to take action because of (I’m ashamed to admit) potential embarrassment. 

“It’s the fire department’s literal job to protect us from dangers like this,” I scolded myself.

We evacuated and called 911.

As it turned out, they did bring the entire batallion, ladder truck and all, sirens blaring. The problem was relatively minor: a faulty part in the furnace was sparking a hot flame every time it turned on. The specific location of the problem in the furnace meant that it likely wouldn’t have had the oxygen to ignite,  but it needed to be shut off and fixed immediately. 

Maybe you’ve felt like this before too. Like something doesn’t feel quite right. It’s not one of those big-and-on-fire type of moments. Instead, it’s that quiet-but-burning gut feeling that keeps saying: I think there’s a problem here that needs to be addressed.

It’s hard to take action in those moments because the emergency isn’t totally clear and taking action feels uncomfortable.

• Opting out of the intensity of youth sports requires us to go against cultural norms.

• Making space in our schedules for our kids to breathe means being okay with boredom.

• Putting time on the calendar for rest and leisure means saying no to other opportunities.

It’s a posture of protection, and it requires an active (read: uncomfortable) response to a demanding world.

Protecting our kids from the cultural norms that threaten their well-being is our literal job as parents, but it isn’t easy either. I hope reading today will remind you to fiercely protect the things that matter most.

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