Perspective

 

I don’t usually fold this laundry. I’m folding it out of love for an overwhelmed teenager. As I’m folding, I’m thinking about how the laundry pieces used to be tiny and the amount I used to fold was mountainous. Thoughts flood of how quickly that season of doing everything for them has passed. How now its even harder to change my survial responses to more of a listening response. While I was in that season of tininess, it took a daily dose of grace to remind myself that the moments are fleeting. 

I find a shirt and of course, it is littered with words of empowerment, but most boldly stands the word PERSPECTIVE. As I have parented as of late, I don’t think I’d be winning any awards of compassion or understanding. Infact I hear quite regularly "I don't know...you don't understand." I’ve never done this teenager thing of raising semi-adults while I myself am headed through my own emotional roller coaster. I feel like I could wallow in self-pity for all the times I could’ve handled situations better. But as I gaze upon the word perspective, there is a peace that comes over me. A peace of knowing that I have done as well as I can because of a heavenly perspective. 

Peace and joy can often be synonymous for happiness. If I measure my peace by how happy I am, that isn’t true peace nor joy. True peace is having a calm within your mind and your soul because you know the trials set before you have already been held captive. True joy comes in standing firm in the muck because you know your creator has even greater plans for you on the other side of the swamp.The truth of these means knowing trials are surmountable. That the trials of uncertainty and what if are only temporary.

To have peace in a decision that otherwise would torment others is the true peace. When we look to the lord for peace and guidance in our decisions there is a war within our flesh and our spirit. But waaaaay down deep, even if we know the decision is going to travel us through the rough terrain, you know it’s the best decision. Lying never brings peace or joy. It might for the moment, but in the end causes damage and no endurance for the long haul. 

When I was younger, there were moments where I wouldn’t think twice about telling a lie. And now my mind and soul are so intertwined and trained by Holy Spirit that I might start to think to tell a lie, but my new nature is checked. I know that the peace I think I will experience from telling the lie isn't comparable to the peace in telling the truth.

My teenagers need to hear truth more than surface lies. They need to know that when everything else seems uncertain and unsteady that I am trustworthy because I’ve admitted my faults, asked for forgiveness on the daily, and walk beside the father. They don’t need another lecture or another soundbite of wisdom. They need a heavenly perspective. I’ll hold onto that instead of the what if and I'll try to keep the perspective of a child of God.

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