A New Perspective

It's so easy to get caught up in the stresses of life.  To wallow in self-pity and focus on all of the things that are wrong with today.   This was me at the end of last week.  I lost my focus.  I began to dwell, on my own exhaustion and to-do lists and I began to stress over things that are out of my control.  Now, if you know me, you know that I don't really stress often.  I'm pretty even keeled, it takes a lot to ruffle my feathers, and I don't like dramatic emotional swings (like the fight to make up thing...that was never my style).   My dad thinks that's the Native American Indian in me, I'm basically smoking an invisible peace pipe everyday. 

And then something happens, a loved one gets ill, someone dies, and suddenly all of the worries that consumed the day, evaporate.  This was my reality check, well, more like a reality slap in the face.  Not only is my dad battling a disease that he no longer can control, but a baby, a tiny baby, was struggling for his last breaths.  It doesn't matter that I've never met this sweet boy, or that I don't even know his parents.  I feel like I do.  I've been following his journey for months, and praying for him and his family nightly.   Baby Daxton fought cancer, he fought hard, and through it all his parents had and have an amazing faith in our Lord.   Please, grab some tissues and a cup of tea and read through a bit of his journal.  Read the amazing faith that his parents have.  Although it will probably break your heart into a million pieces, it will also restore your faith, and alter your perspective.  He was only 14 months old when he was lifted up on angels wings last Friday.  I tear up when I think of him and the grief that his parents are enduring. I cried when I placed a prayer request in the basket for them at church on Sunday.  The mother in me can not imagine the pain and grief of losing a child. 

So, What are you doing, Carol?  I am counting my blessings and not my worries.  I am not sweating the small the stuff.  I am taking joy in the fundamentals of life;  faith, health, and home.  I am living for my today.  I will let Baby Daxton's life be a testament to that.  That he affected so many people, he changed them, and thereby changed a piece of the world.  I've had my perspective altered, and for that I am grateful.

My challenge to you is to re-evaluate what is important in your life today.  To stop yourself when you find yourself complaining about the monotony of the daily grind.  To find joy in a child, a flower, a smile from a stranger.  Life is good.  God is good.  And we are blessed beyond measure.

My Blessings