Perspectives

This last week was a bit of a whirlwind. Some friends from our church back home visited with their two teenagers. Suddenly our busy house of six was a very busy house of 10. Along with all the news from home and evenings talking and playing boardgames, I came to a realization... over these last three years, my perspectives have changed. I'm not seeing things exactly as I once did.

Remember those 3D Posters that were all the rage 10 or 12 years ago? You had to stare really really hard at them, and sort of unfocus your eyes to really appreciate what the poster was about.

(try this one! If I can get it, anyone can! - post a comment if you were able to see it)

Admittedly, I was the fool who had to stand there long after everyone else had moved on because "I just don't see it!"Those posters were so cool! And it was awesome to see something that at first didn't appear to be there, suddenly emerge from the background.

In life, there is nothing like stepping out of your normal existence to gain a different perspective on it. Sort of the whole "can't see the forest through the trees" problem. When you are in the midst of something, you just can't really get a grasp on what it is that you are experiencing. It takes getting through it, or somehow stepping away from it to really appreciate it for what it is.

How many times have I, or friends of mine, gone through things in their lives - circumstances, struggles, tough relationships, and wondered "what ever is this about?" The difficulties experienced, at first glance, seem destructive and debilitating. However, once we are able to take a step back, take our focus off the struggle, we can see something much more intricate and involved~not just a "greater good", but an actual moulding, making and perfecting of who we are, why we are here, and what we are to do.

I look at my life back home and see it differently now. It wasn't just a waste of time while I was looking for the next thing...it was a preparation time, a growing time. Even my time here, while not at all what I had pictured it to be, has proven to be defining and clarifying. Slowly, as I step back and unfocus my eyes so I am no longer seeing the circumstance, but rather what the Artist intended.. the picture is beginning to take shape...to emerge from the busy background of life.