Recently I found myself worrying about how well my kids were doing with their end of term exams. It was consuming a lot of my thinking. Then I heard of someone who had just lost an 18 month old baby to cot death. And another family whose daughter was battling Leukemia. My attitude started to change to one of thankfulness as my persepctive was realigned. Should I be concerned about my children's studies? Absolutely, but with the right perspective I can keep a better balance - afterallmy children were healthy and enjoying life.
I find that I can also lose perspective in work as well - focusing on things that are not so important in light of the big task and great need. This week we had the International leaders in our office - what a blessing. They helped me gain a better perspective once again - hearing their stories of answered prayer, of mighty acts of God, of incredible need still existing. These all helped send me back to my desk with renewed purpose and a better perspective.
How are you doing with the perspective issue?
Are you keeping the main thing the main thing or are you sweating the small stuff?
Have things that are not so important knocked your focus out a little?
Let's keep checking our perspective on life - if you are like me it gets a little whacked out at times and needs some nudging and in some cases a little more.
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I love the question, "Are you keeping the main thing the main thing or are you sweating the small stuff?"
ReplyDeleteWhat are other ways we keep perspective? For you it happened with hearing something outside your situation which almost guided (or jerked) you to reality.
I remember walking in a Nairobi slum full of dirt, sewage, smells, open electric wires hanging between corrugated metal thatched huts and the very next week sitting in my home church in rural Indiana. That sunday the church announced a $500,000 building campaign and I felt like my heart was being jerked about.
How do we gain perspective in a situation like this?
I wondered and asked my self these questions: Why were they spending so much money? Didn't they care about the plight of the Kenyan people? Could they do something? Is the "West" out of perspective? I don't know how I came out of this feeling, but I hope I continue to feel these paradoxes in our World regularly. It is painful, but I want to feel God's heart. What is God feeling in ____________ situation?
I'm led to Romans 12:1-2 which speaks about "renewing our minds so will can test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will."