An Eternal Perspective

Several days ago I battled discouragement for an hour or so.  "It's too hard, Daddy!"  I cried in the bathroom, after we had another setback.  Visions of negative outcomes piled into my mind and I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel  Then I remembered that a couple of days earlier, after the first or second setback, I had determined before the Lord that I was NOT going to get rattled by these setbacks.  The doctors had all warned us they would occur, and that his ultimate recovery (of breathing, anyway) was not in question.   I could trust them to do their best and Joel's body and the Lord to do the rest, and the bumps in the road would not stop us from reaching our goal.

My current challenge, and I think all of ours, is to gain that eternal perspective that Paul writes about in 2 Corinthians 4:  "Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comprehension, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."  Previously he had written about his "light and momentary" affliction as "afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, struck down, and always carrying in the body the death of Jesus," so I'm guessing it wasn't that light or that momentary.

If I really believed Jesus when he said things like, "My kingdom is not of the world," and "The kingdom of God is within you," and understood the upside-down nature of the laws of the kingdom of God, I would not panic over the various circumstances of this "seen" life.  I would constantly ask myself, "How can this circumstance be used to glorify God and make his kingdom more real to me and those around me?"  I would trust that the bumps in the road will not stop me from reaching my goal of knowing Christ and making him known.

Lord, I believe - help my unbelief!

Perspective

I'm starting our Christmas newsletter by brainstorming possible items to include.  It's not every year that a trip to California will take second place in the contest for Biggest Stadem News.  Andrew's confirmation and David's college graduation pale in comparison with "Welcome, Callie!"  It's all a matter of perspective.

Shelley was in town all week helping her sister, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about a month ago.  She slept here last night as all the relatives descended upon Lori's house for the bridal shower tomorrow honoring Jamie, Lori's daughter, who moved her wedding date from next April to this December so she can be sure her mom will be there.  Their church and work communities have rallied around them and are doing a lot of the leg work for the wedding.  Jamie confessed to Aunt Shelley, "When I was getting married in April, I had so many requirements.  This had to be done my way and that had to be perfect.  Now none of that seems to matter; I just want Mom to be well enough to enjoy my wedding."  It's all a matter of perspective.

Only two days remain for Mitt Romney or President Obama to convince enough indecisive voters to propel him into office.  I tend to follow politics and obsess about my concerns, so I took a break from the scene this fall and refused to watch, read or listen to political ads or commentary.  I wish I could state that this cured me of my excessive interest, but I'm pretty sure that on Election Day (and for days thereafter) I'll be glued to the computer, trying to figure out what went right and wrong.  However, if a member of my family died or became severely ill or injured, I wouldn't care a bit about the elections except as a distraction from things of true importance. It's all a matter of perspective.

Lord, grant us a truer perspective on life and Your kingdom.  Amen.