It’s a Matter of Perspective…
One thing I recall about springtime as a little girl in Montana is the abundance of dandelions. I didn’t know the cheery yellow flowers were weeds. They made delightful decorations for a mud cake and pretty, petite bouquets to give Mama.
I believed the myth if you rub a dandelion under your chin and its yellow pollen stuck, you were in love. My playmates and I teased each other, trying to figure out who we loved.
My very favorite thing about dandelions, though, was to blow on a flower which had gone to seed and make a wish.
When some see a dandelion, they see a weed.
When others see a dandelion, they see a wish.
It’s all a matter of perspective.
Perspective is a particular way of looking at something—one’s point of view. The reason for many misunderstandings boils down to difference in perspective.
I thought about perspective during the days leading up to Easter. How utterly perplexed Jesus’ friends must have been. They were convinced he was the long-awaited Messiah, and what happened made no sense.
The disciples believed Jesus would become a literal king, freeing them from the oppression of the Romans. Instead, he died upon a cross, a cruel means of execution used by the Romans.
The disciples’ perspective simply didn’t match up with their long-held beliefs, heartfelt hopes, and projected political plans.
Never to the extent of Jesus’ friends and family, but in my life, there have been times when I’ve felt much like those heartbroken friends. Despite my deep belief, God was not showing up in the way I expected, and I felt let down and bewildered.
My perspective and God’s have quite often not been in alignment.
Two verses of scripture have helped me enormously deal with the challenge when Divine perspective doesn’t correspond with mine:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8 & 9 (NIV)
The events leading up to that first Easter would eventually make sense to the disciples. Some of the perplexing events in my own life—when viewed in retrospect—are now understandable.
When it comes to perspective, I believe it’s important to be as well-informed and faith filled as much as possible. It’s good to stand resolute in our convictions. In the final analysis, however, I’m learning to trust that God ‘s perspective is all that truly matters!
Prayer:
God who completely sees and comprehends,
Thank you that you know what I do not.
You see clearly when my perspective is blurred.
Help me focus on what really, truly matters:
Loving God, loving others, and loving myself.
Amen
From my perspective, you, my reader friend, are an incredibly special blessing…
