All About Perspective

From a Facebook friend who lives in Minnesota.  I’m reprinting it with her permission in my blog just as she wrote it.  Thanks so much, Wendy, and may the words of the last paragraph come to you and your family now and in the year to come.

Due to a kitchen and living room flooring/painting project started three weeks before Christmas, yesterday was my first opportunity to make my shopping trip to St. Cloud. Many nights we'd worked until midnight peeling wall paper border or painting, cleaning up the day's mess; whatever the task at hand was. On the 14th of December after getting off work and eating our typical fast food, I assumed my place back up on the ladder peeling minute strips of paper off the wall. I was feeling pretty frustrated and "woe is me" - I was really missing out on the "Normal Christmas Season". You know, putting the tree up, baking cookies, looking for and wrapping the gifts, going to Christmas plays and concerts. And then, it really hit me in the heart. That day in Connecticut, twenty children and six adults were taken from their families. I understood right then that those families affected had Christmas gifts under the tree for those sweet little children. Tags with their names written on, waiting for Christmas. They would never be opened by the gift's intended recipient. Those families were now contemplating having to plan funerals instead of Christmas vacation play dates.

Right then on the ladder, perspective meant EVERYTHING. I whispered a prayer for the victims' families and thanked God that my little family was alive and well, looking forward to being together over the holidays. It was humbling. Being connected to the internet or watching 5 minutes of TV makes it hard to get past "the noise" of retailers wanting you to feel as though a happy, memorable Christmas won't happen unless you buy this or that. The older I get, I realize how important people in your life are. That at any moment, for whatever reason (sickness, an accident, etc.) someone can be taken from you.

Last night as I drove home from St. Cloud listening to Garrison Keillor's Christmas show, I admired so many beautiful Christmas light displays on highway 23. Stretching out into the distance were sparkle lights on roof lines that I would never had noticed otherwise. The air was a crisp 28 degrees and the snow sparkled on the ground. The music, the lights, the snow; I felt happy, content and thankful. Still, I was very aware that Christmas is not the same experience for everyone. Many are hurting; my own brother just lost his wife of 43 years on the 20th of December. My heart is aching for him and I'm sure the joy of the holidays is eluding him as he grieves her passing.

If you have all your loved ones gathered around you this holiday season, enjoy and love them. If you know of someone who has suffered a loss or is alone, call them or visit them. We all have different experiences and realities to deal with.

To me, it's all about perspective.

May the God who created heaven and earth, who has blessed you beyond what you can imagine, be watching over you and your family. May you feel His love now and through the entire year. Serve Him by serving others and may He be glorified in your actions. Merry Christmas.