Perspective..... a mental view or outlook. I've certainly had a lot going on in my life the last couple of years that have changed or heightened my perspective on my life. The birth of my first grandchild, my oldest daughter in college and engaged to be married, taking care of my mother as her health failed, and then her death, and now the death of my 4 year old cousin. God is awesome!! He has proven Himself over and over! The blessings have been immeasurable! I cannot fathom what life would be like without Him in it!
God has placed people in my life, just when I needed them. He has allowed people to come back into my life just when I needed them, and He has allowed people to walk out of my life....just when I needed that too. I have witnessed God pick up the pieces around me and paint the most beautiful portrait! He always makes a masterpiece out of our messes, if we allow Him to! He will not put more on you than you can bear, and He has proven that to me, and because I trusted in Him, I am stronger in my faith.
Galatians 6:2 says, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." I'm so thankful to have fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who are genuinely walking with Christ. They have been so wonderful during me and my family's time of need! Verse 3 says, "For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself." Sad to say that there are those among us who are deceived. But by God's grace, I could be walking around the same way.
Losing my mother was and is hard. I miss her so much. The loss of both parents leaves a vacancy within my heart. I am encouraged by the fact that I live with the assurance of one day being reunited with both of them one day for eternity! Not having them anymore, makes everyday a special blessing for me now. I do not take for granted being a mother, wife, grandmother, and friend. I don't 'sweat the small stuff' as they say. I enjoy my time with them, and drink it in! Time is so short!!! Life is too short and eternity is too long to be stubborn!! Why hang on to hurt, pain, stubbornness, pride???? Will all that matter when we get to Heaven??
The drowning death of my 4 year old cousin this past week only heightened my new perspective on things. All these, hurt feelings, anger and grudges.......what a waste!! Get over all that! Is that hurt, disappointment, disagreement worth more than the person you have those feelings targeted at?? Find a way to get past it, and make a way to have some kind of relationship with your family, friends, whoever, again! Time is too short!! None of us are guaranteed tomorrow!! If that person you have 'issues' with were to die tomorrow, could you live with the regrets?
Is it 'things' that you are focused on? New job, new car, new house, getting bigger things, better things....is all that worth it? We sometimes like to pat ourselves on the back and say, look what God is blessing me with....God is giving me everything I wanted......Everything is going my way! Really? Is it? Or is it just filling the void of things lost that are really what is important in life....friendship, relationships......
I had struggled with seeing some people 'prosper' and think, how is it that they seem to be 'blessed' and others struggle. Well, I recently saw the movie, "God's Not Dead".....a must see, by the way, and an elderly woman made a statement that blew me away. Her son told her that she had lived right all of her life, and had nothing, not even her health, meanwhile he was evil and his life was perfect and had it all. ( I am paraphrasing). Her reply was that Satan allows us to enjoy and prosper in sin, in order to keep us where he wants us.....keep us inside his prison, but one day the cell door will slam shut! Wow!! That's it!! I'm not just talking about sinners either, Christians get imprisoned too! Satan can't get Christians' souls, but he can imprison them so that they will not and cannot be a witness to lead others to Christ!
Are all those 'things' you say God is blessing you with helping your walk with Him....or hindering? I'm not saying you shouldn't have nice things or that God is not in you getting nice things.....I'm not saying that at all! But when your perspective is in those 'things', when you are wrapped up in your own little bubble, is that being Christ-like? When you cut family, friends out of your life, when you are so involved in 'things' that others, sinners and even fellow Christians, stop and say, "Whoa, what is going on with them??" It may just be time to get a new perspective.
As we lay that beautiful baby boy in a grave this weekend, rejoicing that he is perfect and whole in Heaven, awaiting on us to arrive, as I visit the grave of my mother, I walk away in awe of God's mercy and grace and love. I'm not sweating 'he said, she said, he did, she did..' I'm sharing God's love and mercy with others around me, all this world has to offer can be gone tomorrow, but my family, my friends, they are here forever. None of us are perfect, we all make mistakes.........if God can love us still, and forgive, than surely we can too! Now go hug your children, your spouse, tell that niece or nephew how proud of them you are, call your mom and dad while you can, reach out to that cousin you haven't talked to in a while, let that friend know you are thinking about them!
