Jan 19, 2012

perspective

-n   A way of regarding situations, facts, etc, and judging their relative importance

It’s January at the time of this writing and this past week, the temperatures (finally) dropped as winter (finally) began to set in. I remember thinking to myself; “Today it is too cold but in two days it will be just right”; even though the temperatures would be the same. It’s all a matter of perspective.

You see, today I needed to be outside; going back and forth from the garage to the house and back again as I worked on a project in the house. On Saturday morning, the temperature would be very nice because I would be skating outside (Yeah, I get to play hockey inside on Friday nights and play outside on Saturdays because the outside rinks are FINALLY open!).

In Minnesota this year, with no snow on the ground, we had golf courses open as we hosted temperatures in the mid-fifties in January and because there has been no sand on the streets, it has been perfect weather for motorcyclists! Cathy and I saw fishermen in boats on the Mississippi River. Yesterday I saw a photo in the paper of someone sailboarding on open waters.

We simply could NOT get the temperatures cold enough outside to keep ice rinks frozen and so almost all hockey has been played indoors.

Last year in Minnesota we had one of the snowiest winters on record; we had no where to place the snow as most of our driveways and intersections already had piles of snow well over eight feet tall! We had frozen rinks but there was too much snow on them to be able to skate on the rinks!

Which of these two winters you like best is all a matter of perspective.

How we choose to view life can make or break how fully we really live our lives. The seasons of life can change drastically at times and be seen as “ugly”, or the changes can be seen as “beautiful”; all depending on your perspective.

I started thinking about this when I had to replace the lockset on our garage door late one night. I had to run to the store and on the way I realized that I had a choice to make as to how I would respond. I could either be grateful that I had the expertise to install a new lock and the skills and the knowledge to do so, or I could respond frustrated with this interruption in my day. It’s all a matter of perspective.

I have thick hair and so I “have to” get it cut every month. Actually, if the hockey-mullets would come back in style then I could grow it long again. Wait, were they ever in style?

Why am I writing this? Because at the grocery store I saw a woman who has hair that is very thin; she’s actually bald on top and does a comb-over. My guess is she would love to “have-to-get-it-cut-because-it-is –too-long”. It’s all a matter of perspective.

My muscles were sore due to playing two hockey games in a row; but still not the same as the daily aches and pains associated with being in a wheelchair. It’s all a matter of perspective.

We need to look up to the Lord and let Him give us a new perspective on our situation: For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16 NKJV)

How we choose to go through this year and this life will be partially up to us. We may not get to choose what comes our way, but we DO get to choose how we respond to it. It’s all a matter of perspective. We gotta let the light shine!









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