Its All About Perspective

Have you ever been so entrenched in your own day to day minutia that you fail to realize that the world is going on around you? I have found that since becoming a stay-at-home mom I can easily get caught up in MY life and lose touch with what is going on in the world around me and in the lives of others. Unfortunately when this happens, I have a tendency to take for granted the many blessings that the Lord showers upon me and my family on a daily basis. I become so focused on the little details in my life that the big picture is nothing more than a fuzzy backdrop. I see the world through the negative and not the positive. Recently the Lord has sent some reminders my way to help me put my life back into the right perspective. The perspective where my life is just a small part of the big picture. The perspective where I can clearly see the Lord's hand in my life and the wonderful path that he has laid before me.

We have some dear friends that found out their unborn baby had a heart defect right around the time Little Peachy was born. I very clearly remember the day that I found out their sad news. I was still riding high (and low) on the after birth hormones and hearing about their little girl quickly dissolved me into a puddle of tears. The tears I shed that day were tears of sadness for their unborn daughter, but were also tears of guilt as I realized all that I had taken for granted in the healthy birth of our own daughter. Our friends had their little girl about a month ago. Since then she has not left the hospital where she was born. She has endured open heart surgery and continues to fight for her life everyday. Reading her parents' entries on her CaringBridge site is truly a perspective changing experience for me. Here I am worried about diaper rash and cradle cap while these friends worry about unknown infections, exploratory surgeries, and their daughter's dependence on the heart and lung bypass machine. Their perspective on their current struggles changes my perspective. How silly all of my daily worries seem in comparison. How blessed are we as parents of a completely healthy and happy four month old!

My happy and healthy marriage is another blessing that I all too often take for granted. I forget that having a loving and accepting husband is not something that everyone has. I forget that having a true partner in raising our daughter is a gift of the Lord. I overlook the fact that not every spouse has someone to share their faith with.

The list of daily blessings can go on and on. M's job is very stable and we don't have to worry about money or the next paycheck. We have a beautiful house filled with much more than we could ever need. We have wonderful families that support us in many ways. We have a church home that we love.

And, the biggest blessing that can so easily be overlooked, the true peace that I have in knowing that all of my sins--even the sin of selfishness and taking things for granted--have been paid for in full by a loving Father sending his Son to wipe my slate clean.

So, today I thank the Lord for putting my life back into His perspective and I ask him to help me realize the many blessings that we as a family share. May you too be blessed in a new perspective on your life.