Perspective

I received a comment from a faithful reader yesterday, urging me to keep writing, to keep encouraging others with the love of the Lord. I have meant to write much more often than I have, yet my life has swooped me up and carried me off in a thousand different directions in the past few months. My Christmas tree still stands in the living room due to my rushed schedule. I logged over one hundred hours working last week. The kids have school and sports, and had (what seemed like) a super-long holiday vacation, throwing everything off-kilter. These are my excuses,anyway. I still worship, I still pray, I take five minutes every weekday morning to share a verse or thought with my sisters in Christ, yet the deep-down, soul drenching peace I one possessed is as elusive as a pleasant scent on a breezy day.

In a rare "brain break" at work today, I realized that what's changed is my perspective. Nothing has been really wrong, yet nothing has been really right, either. I still have the same old struggles which come from being a single mother, and all that entails. I have some tremendous blessings, which I am continuously grateful for, as well. I do have a considerable amount of daily stress, but I realize I'm not putting it all into perspective. I looked up the definition of the word. One entry states: "The faculty of seeing all the relevant data in a meaningful relationship."

I heard once that people aren't going to want anything to do with my "Jesus" if my life is marked with the same anxiety and frustrations as everyone else. Why should the world care that I have a relationship with the Creator of the world, if it makes no difference in the way I react to my problems? It would be the same as dying of thirst from a drought with the rest of my community when I have a well in my possession which produces unlimited water. Common sense says that I would not only drink, but offer anyone and everyone around me the water they crave - and they would want the water, because they would see how it revived me! How sad that we so often choose to suffer because we don't drink from the well that Christ makes available to us every moment of every day. Equally sad is the fact that thirsty people around us know we have a "well" in our possession, yet they observe us choosing to deal with our own thirst the same way they do - neglecting the source that can refresh and hydrate our souls.

It explains the lack of peace in my own life. I sent a verse from Isaiah to my friends this morning: "Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee." I didn't have peace today because my mind was not fixed on Jesus. I know it, and I wrestle with God sometimes, asking Him how I could possibly keep my mind on Him when I'm faced with encounters with angry people, angry kids, broken promises, urgent needs - and the list goes on. My own limitations are tested, and I find that I can't focus on anything after a while.

The Lord answered me today, through scripture, as He often does. I was reminded of the following passage, which was quoted word for word by my foster father, "Grampy" (in the KJV at the time) in the final moments of the final message I ever heard him preach in the early '90's. Grampy's memory began to fail him near the end of his life, yet there was a time when he still remembered scripture, and could still pray to the Lord.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Phil 4:4-9)NIV

As I prepared to argue with God about how impossible it would be to have peace when dealing with a very difficult person, He reminded me to think about what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable. If I'm stressing about having too much on my plate, I can find perspective and focus on the promise of Jesus to never leave me. That thought alone is noble, right, pure, etc. There is not one situation I can ever encounter which has the power to rob me of my peace - I may not be able to control my outward circumstances, but with God's help, I can control my focus. He can take my frustrations, stress, disappointments and anger, and flood my soul with pure and noble thoughts. There's another verse that fits perfectly with this passage: As a man thinks within himself, so is he (Prov. 23:7a)

I want to be the woman who keeps everything in perspective. That perspective begins in my hidden thoughts. Having perspective doesn't mean that I wait until life gets easier to be happy or peaceful. It means that I see the "big picture", and I choose to dwell on those things that God says says will bring peace.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come to you again, as your headstrong adopted daughter, and I thank You for being more patient than any earthly father could ever be! I know you've taught me these lessons over and over, yet I read them again as though seeing them for the first time! Thank You for showing me how to have peace, and for being close at all times. Please help me to continue blessing others along the way! In Jesus' name...