Perspective

Perspective is multi-faceted, right? 

You've got the visual perspective - as in how far away from that door knob I think I am, or that curb, or that snow boulder.  Wrong, wrong, and wrong. 

Then, you've got the mental perspective - as in how athletic I mistakenly still believe myself to be.  Like that I can skip down the stairs whilst carrying something and hop off the bottom step in mid turn 'round the corner.  That ends up in direct proportion to the visual, many times.  I end up face planting into the door.  Told you laundry is the most athletic thing I've got left...

I'm usually all about perspective.  My mind is chock full of cliche phrases like, "attitude is everything" and "where there's a will there's a way".  I recite scripture and remind myself of the Lord's promises.  It's really the perfect blend of being a product of an Army Dad, as well as a child of God:-) 

I didn't realize that I'd forgotten all of that when trials are of a different flavor.  The Lord has a funny way of using my kids to remind me of such things.

You know how, as a husband and wife, you have those conversations that are sensitive...but you speak in code so as to spare your children?  Well that's what we were doing.  I had done a masterful job, if I don't say so myself, until I got careless and mentioned something about a task I needed my husband to take care of on a particular weekday morning.  Our son interjected:

him: "isn't Daddy working?"
me, filling in for husband with deer-in-headlights expression:  "no, he's off."
him: "so that means he'll be home when we get home from school?"
me:  "yeah"
him:  "yay!  Wait, are you off, too?"
me:  "yeah"
him  :::hands in air, celebration dance, woo hoo'ing:::

Try as I may, I wasn't able to hold back my tears.  All the stress and worry over circumstances, all the stress and worry over this impending day...and someone was celebrating it in a way I could've never imagined?  Yeah.  I had to get out of the room quickly, so as to go unnoticed.  I'm uncertain why, but I found myself in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher.  That cued my husband to seek me out and ask what was the matter.  Clearly, I'm not the 'do the dishes' kind of wife;-)  I brushed my tears off on ms, saying they were pseudobulbar.  Hey, I don't play the card often, but how could I explain to him that, when I saw the absolute joy in the faces of our kids over the fact that we would both be home...at the same time...at night?  Well, it reminded me.

...it's all about perspective.



Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  - James 1:2-4