Having the right perspective is not always easy, but it is always the right choice. I recently received an email from a family member who was sharing with me about her parents who had been preparing for an estate sale where they had lived for the past 45 years. The two of them had been diligently working towards their goal of getting everything ready for the sale. During the process of preparing for the upcoming event, they encountered a series of events that elevated their already overwhelming situation to a whole new height of frustrations and discouragements.
As they began to busy themselves with their packing which was an overwhelming and stressful job itself, their issues began and the list of concerns seem to grow. In the midst of packing, their hot water heater went out and the needed repairs could not be made any time within their near future. As the issues of packing mounted, a tractor that her dad had planned to place in the auction suddenly would not start; so of course that situation would change the value of the sale of the tractor, in which he then would have to take a great loss. With much effort and to no avail, the tractor repairman could not be reached. Since he was unable to be reached by phone, her dad had decided to drive by the repairman’s house to see if he could catch him at home, or at least leave him a message.
As he reached the man’s home and drove up into the driveway, he noticed that a BIG tractor that was usually in the yard, was no longer there. The repairman's truck was there, but had grass growing up around it as though it hadn't been driven for some time. As her dad reluctantly started to leave, due to fact that it seemed pretty obvious that no one was around, he remembered that the repairman was often gone for long periods of time during that time of the year, and in his desperation, decided to get out of his vehicle and knock on the man’s door. For at that point her dad had nothing to loose. After all, he had driven all the way to man’s house. Upon knocking on the door, he heard the man calling out to him to hold on, that he was on his way to the door. After a short wait, the tractor repairman opened the door. The right side of his face was somewhat droopy, reminiscent of someone who had had a stroke. His movements to walk and open the door were labored and he leaned heavily on a cane. Her dad was concerned for the man that he might fall over. It was a very different picture than the vigorous man he usually encountered. The ensuing conversation revealed that the man had recently had a small brain tumor removed. The doctors had told him that he should be back to almost 100% by 6 weeks after his surgery. It was then 13 weeks past that surgery. The repairman shared with her dad that he of course was now unable to work and doesn't know if he'll ever get any better and respectively referred him to someone else that could possibly do the repairs.
Her dad shared that suddenly, he remembered the differences between an inconvenience and a tragedy as he stood staring at God's illustration and reminder of that difference. He returned home with a very different perspective and frame of mind than that which he had when he left. He had changed his attitude from being dismayed to being grateful. At that point both her parents were reminded the importance of changing a wrong attitude to having a heart full of gratitude.
This may be your situation today sweet friend. You may be slap dab in the middle of an enormous job or situation that seems overwhelming to you. Maybe every corner you take brings only another problem. While changing your attitude may never take away the problem itself, it always allows you to bear those moments and situations with peace and dignity, that every child of the living God has access to; as well as being indebted to walk in. We are His witnesses to a world that needs us to keep a check on our attitudes because of the victory that is bestowed upon us and that we have access to, if we will only choose it!
A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompense of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him. Proverbs 12:14
Loving you today….keep striving…..the peak is worth the pain of the path, never forget that!
Bren
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