June 07, 2012

50 Days to 50 - Perspective

Day 10

President Bill Clinton


This is an original, untouched photo that Mrs. Ray of Sunshyne took in the Spring of 2008 during the presidential primaries. Our former president was campaigning for his wife and stopped in our little rural town on his way through our state. We opted to sign Ray out of class to attend the rally held at her school in the gymnasium. She snapped this when he reached through the crowd, leaning over her to shake my hand and thank me for coming.
Isn't this a great photo? It tells part of a story and if I didn't put words to it, you could easily guess the story related to your own experience. You might have thought it was cropped. You could have wondered if the crowd was crushing. You might wonder if he said something that changed our mind or strengthened our resolve in who we were voting for. The truth is, it is only a small part of the story.
I have said it before, everybody has a story. Everyone has been shaped by a lifetime of experiences that cause them to face the trials of life the way they do. So often, we only have a snapshot or glimpse of who someone is and through our own experience, we determine how we are going to treat that person. At times it is our own lives we are left wondering about. How did I get here, what is this all about and how am I going to get through. Recently a friend was lamenting about the six plus years of diapers she had faced with her three children. I jokingly mentioned that I was on 14 years with two children and no end in sight. Strangely enough, it encouraged her. She hadn't looked at it from that side of things.
As we focus on the blessings in our lives we regain a clearer vision of who we are. If we see ourselves through the eyes of a loving God, we begin to understand that He has an eternal point of view. Things that don't make sense to us now, even suffering, will look different when we observe it from a different time and place. If we allow ourselves to get stuck, if we refuse to look deeper, we become discouraged and lose hope.
Today I will reset my focus. Where there was betrayal I will choose forgiveness. Where there is loss I will seek what was gained. In place of worthlessness, I will trust the Lord who has placed in me His worth.

Always,


Hope

(NOTE: This is my Jubilee year. Scripture speaks of this year as a time for restoration and debts to be cancelled. I see it as a time to reflect and to count my blessings. Knowing how precious life is and how miraculous it is, I want to write about His goodness.)

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