Immersed in the Psalms: Perspective

I took these photos earlier this week during a rare moment when I had the house to myself. I was enjoying the silence, and snapped the photos to remember how at-peace I felt.

Just a few hours later a family emergency came up, and our hurricane-nephew came to turn our house into a frenetic place of rambunctious energy.

As I look at these photos just a few days later, I realize that nearly everything I see can be interpreted based on perspective.





The candle on the table - I can see that it's nearly burned down... OR I can see that we have been enjoying the same candle for several weeks.

The flowers - I can see that they are starting to wilt, OR I can see that there is still some life in them, nearly two weeks after they were purchased.

I see my blanket and know that I was curled up on the sofa feeling the effects of the weather - OR I can remember that I was warm inside my house, and did not need to venture outside on a day that would have been cripplingly cold.

Through the window I can see that we still share a driveway and side-yard with neighbors literally 20' away, OR I can see the new flooring, and enjoy the fact that we have been slowly improving our house for the past 18 years.

In the next photo, I can either see a micro office-cart put together out of the needs of a failing body, OR I can see that I have everything I need right at my fingertips, wherever I need to be.

I can see that our home is small enough that our fireplace is only for gel fuel and decoration, OR I can see that we've managed to find a way to have a cozy fire, even without a chimney.

In my life, I can see that I have been forced to use my wheelchair more often than not in the past two years, OR I can see that I have an all-terrain chair that allows me to trek around offroad, and that I am able to "outrun" my son for the first time in 15 years.

In taking a year to study the Psalms, I can see a desperate attempt to add peace and calm to a chaotic life, OR I can see that we can afford for me to be a stay at home mom, even after my kids have grown, and that I have the freedom to finally do something for myself.

Some days these changes in perspective come easily to me. Other days I have to struggle to even see them. Just within this past week however, my eyes have been opening to some of the more subtle positive perspectives within my life.

It's a welcome change.