Friday, June 15, 2011 :: Perspective

Perspective is a funny thing. The wrong perspective can make you think you have the worst situation in the world. The right perspective can make you realize there are always blessings to count. I've been thinking a lot about perspective in a crisis this week.

I think sometimes when we're going through a trial, it is so easy to see nothing more than that trial, staring you right in the face, 24/7. It is consuming, overwhelming, and exhausting. So it's no wonder our perspective gets skewed. But it is in those times, in these times, that I must step back and realign my perspective. For example...

...I have no water in my house.  I know people who's homes are underwater, up to the gutters and beyond. People just a few miles down the road.
...I have no water, to speak of, in my yard. I know people who will have no grass, no trees, no flowers, and no bushes left when this is all over with. Well, that's not entirely true--they will have dead grass, dead trees, dead flowers, and dead bushes....all which must be cleaned up. These people live all around me.
...I get to see my husband every evening. We are not separated by the river. I know people who live on the other side and work on this side who spend the entire week away from their family, only spending the weekends together. These people work less than 5 miles from me.
...I have the privacy of my home, as well as all of the conveniences of home like a stove, refrigerator, washer and dryer, my own bed, and my own shower. I know people who are living with friends and relatives, or without conveniences we take for granted, like running water, or a stove. These people are my friends and family. 
...My husband does not have to drive 5 hours to work every day. I know people who do. These people are my friends.  
....We have only had to give up some preferences. (We would prefer to not live out of boxes. We would prefer not to have skunks in our crawl space or the air to smell like the sewer.) Some people have had to give up so..much..more. These people are my friends.
...Some people feel like they have lost everything, and to them, they have. But from an eternal perspective, we know that we have only lost things that really weren't ours to begin with. We also have figured out you don't realize how much you find satisfaction in your possessions until they are being pried out of your hands.

So, I don't know about you, but I have tons of things to be thankful for. Absolutely tons. And if my situation were different and I had water in my house, I'd STILL have tons to be thankful for.

What are you thankful for today? If you can't think of anything, maybe it's time to step back for a new perspective.