August 28th, 2008
It’s All a Matter of Perspective
Much of the joy or tribulation in our lives is self-induced. It’s how we look at things. Is the glass half-full or is it half-empty? Your attitude determines the answer.
We all know people who are terminally negative. Their negative attitude will kill them or we will. We also know people who are effervescent, who see the good in everything, who go through life with a perpetual smile that sometimes (be honest) you want to smack off their face. When it comes down to brass tacks, how we respond to what life throws at us is all a matter of perspective.
I’m learning that lesson today. I’ve been diagnosed with a bad case of shingles.
I’ve known others who had shingles. They’re usually much older than me. I’ve known others who’ve suffered much at its hands, experiencing pain years after the visible effects have passed. Today I know a little more of what they were going through.
My lesions are grotesgue. They’re painful. It hurts to sit. It hurts to stand. It hurts to walk. All in all, I would say that I’d rather not go through this season of my life as it is unfolding.
But, you know what? This is the season that God has sent me. This is the small challenge He has set before me. He has something He wants to teach me. Or, He has something He wants to do through me. So, let’s get a little perspective on this matter.
1 - My lesions/blisters are as ugly as any I’ve ever seen. But, they’re on my leg. No one will ever see them. If I scar from this encounter with aberrant biology (the result of the fall no less), it won’t matter. I’m not the elephant, I’m a human.
2 - My pain is present. I’m aware of it. But, I’ve got a high pain threshhold. I don’t need the pain meds. I don’t want the pain meds. But, I’ve got them if I need them. Not everyone can say that. While it hurts a little to walk, I can still walk. I could run, if had to.
3 - I’m now able to empathize with others who’ve been through this in a way that was impossible before. I will now be a better minister of comfort because I truly have felt their pain and experienced that comfort.
4 - In the end, I still have my health. My family still loves me. And, God is still good. He has blessed me before. He will bless me again. In ways that I cannot yet comprehend, He’s even blessing me now.
It’s all a matter of perspective.
I do ask for your prayers. Pray that I learn the lessons set before me. Pray that I will be grateful for what God has given. Pray that my perspective will grow ever more Christ-like, even if my situation grows worse. Pray that God’s will will be done, be it quick healing or the painful hand of correction. Pray that I will be humble enough to ask for help when my pride tells me to be quiet. Pray that others who observe me in this season will see any strength that I may exude as the grace of God rather than the quality of my character. Pray that others learn from me in the classroom of physical ailment. Pray that God is pleased with my perspective or that He will change it to match His. Pray that God will get the glory, whatever it costs me.