Perspective
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I stepped outside one morning last week and thought, “Wow! It is so warm out here. It must be close to 50 degrees.”
When I looked at the thermometer, it was only a little over 30 degrees. Not too warm, but definitely much warmer than the teens we had been in only the day before. I thought about how, once summer arrives, 50 degrees will be cold, not warm.
It’s all in the perspective.
Did you ever notice that a lot of things are all in the perspective? How your mood on any given day can determine whether you see the day as good or bad? How your level of hunger can determine whether a certain food is delicious or only fair? How a dressing room and a stack of clothes to try on can determine whether you see your level of excercise as adequate or lacking?
A favorite song of the kids and me is “Be True to Your Heart” from Mulan. One line says, “Your heart can’t tell you no lies.” Bad grammar aside, I’ve always pointed out to the kids that, while it’s a cute song, that particular line is contrary to God’s Word which tells us:
The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it? – Jeremiah 17:9
So, what are we supposed to do if perspective is such a subjective thing and we can’t even trust our heart to guide us in the right direction? I’m pretty sure that I’ve shared the answer to that a time or two, but sometimes I need to be reminded:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6
That’s important because:
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. – Proverbs 14:12
Sometimes trusting God to make our paths straight is easier said than done. As I’ve said before, I really love this quote from Chuck Swindoll when I need a reminder about my attitude:
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the
past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than
successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than
appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church…
a home.The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude
we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the
fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The
only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our
attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I
react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.
You could just about replace the word attitude with the word perspective in that quote, don’t you think?
Do you need to get a new perspective today?
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.
Kris, I liked this post. I was thinking as I read it, how I often let my emotions cloud my thinking. Emotions are so unreliable. Thanks for this post. I have been neglecting my blog here of late, but not anymore. I’ve just had a lot going on. It was so good to see you at MNO.
Donna Scott
Great post. I can always use a reminder on how attitude affects my life and others. On those hard days it can be really hard to keep a positive perspective on things.
Thank you this is a great post. Everyone needs a little perspective in life. It is interesting that I came across this post, I have been in need of a little fresh perspective and a change in attitude. 🙂
You have some very good analogies in this post! Another thought provoking post from YOU!